The Second Quarter Quell
by ReadBooksWriteThings
Summary: Family, friendship and fighting to your doom. This is the Second Quarter Quell. Follow the journey of these 48 kids as they battle for survival. This story is told from the POV of both Haymitch Abernathy and Maysilee Donner. The 50th Games and the aftermath. Rated T for violence.
1. Reaping Day

**Chapter 1: Reaping Day**

Haymitch Abernathy

"Haymitch! Haymitch, wake up!" I groan trying to shield the sun from my eyes. "It's reaping day, we have to get ready!" My eyes snap open. Standing in front of me is my little brother Hayden who is shaking me like a rag doll. "Come on."

"Ugh, fine," I grumble and roll out of bed. Hayden grins and drags me to the kitchen.

The first thing I notice is the luxurious breakfast my mom has prepared. Fresh egg with berries. I haven't had fresh meat for at least three months. But then I remember the date, today is reaping day. My mom always makes great meals for the reaping just in case the unthinkable happens. "Thanks mom," I say and dig in.

It's the best food I've had in months. That's what I hate about living in the Seam, everyone is poor and there is never enough food to go around. What I hate more is the Capitol, how they're rich and let everyone else starve. Well not everyone, the career districts get food, more than we'll ever get anyway. I despise the Capitol but we aren't even allowed to have that opinion so I just keep it all to myself.

"You don't think we'll get reaped, do you?" Hayden is 13 and is horrified of the chance of getting reaped.

I can't help but roll my eyes. "You've got your name in there twice Hayden, just twice."

"Yeah but they're doing double the draws this time." He sounds so nervous that I reach over and ruffle his hair. "You'll be fine, it's me you should worry about," I fake a laugh, "24 slips of paper in there with my name on it, just waiting to be called…"

"Haymitch! That's enough. You aren't going to get reaped!" Mom's voice is shrill and I know why. She hates it when I mention the chance of getting reaped. She likes to imagine that it could never happen to us. That it only happens to other people. But I don't think so, the whole idea of the Games is stupid. Like who watches kids killing other kids for entertainment. The whole thing makes me feel sick, so I deal with it the best way I know how, making jokes.

"I was just kidding mom," I say passing her my empty plate, "Can I go see Serena, we always wish each other good luck." Serena is my best friend in the world. Well actually she's my girlfriend because we're engaged. She is anything I could ever dream for. We were practically made for each other. Serena, mom and Hayden are my most favourite people in the world.

"Of course, you can go just meet us at the reaping alright?" Mom adores Serena, she treats her like family.

"Thanks," I get up and hug her. Usually I'm not a hugging kind of person but the reaping brings out something in me. Something scared and worried but angry and aggressive too. Something I don't particularly like. But since I hugged mom I reach over and hug Hayden too. Then I walk out the door.

Maysilee Donner

"Maysilee aren't you nervous?" Maylene asks me, worry etched all over her face. Maylene is my twin sister and the reaping is the only thing on her mind.

"Of course, I am but we only have our names in there four times each. That's nothing compared to other people." I feel bad saying this as my family is from the wealthier parts of District 12 and by wealthier, I mean we can actually afford to have 3 meals a day. People from the Seam hardly get anything which I think is so unfair. But complaining won't do anything so all I can do is keep my feelings to myself.

"Yeah I know but it could happen to anyone," she says twisting her hair around her finger, "What about everyone else?"

I smile sadly, "We can't worry about them May, we can only help ourselves." May is both of our nicknames. Maylene smiles and puts her arm around me.

"Hey guys." I look up and see Iris, who is both my friend and Maylene's. She and Maylene are my most favourite people on this whole entire planet.

"Hi." Maylene and I hug her. Us three are so close, we're practically triplets.

"How are my favourite twins doing." I smile. Both me and Maylene have got blonde hair and blue eyes. We are both smart and like to sing but are similarities stop there. Maylene is popular and loud where I'm quiet and sweet. Boys can never stop hurtling themselves at her feet and she already has a boyfriend. A boy named Conner Undersee. Iris has a boyfriend too, a boy from the Seam named Ash, Ash Everdeen. Having a boyfriend from the Seam when you are a merchant's daughter is frowned upon so only me and Maylene know about her secret relationship.

"I'm so scared for the reaping." Maylene says.

Iris smiles sadly, "You say that every year May, and none of us have ever gotten reaped."

"I know but they are doing twice the draws this year."

"It's not going to be us," I say not believing it, "There will be thousands of slips in that bowl. It's not going to be us." I find the need to say it twice in hopes that I might believe it. But I don't because it can be anyone and I can't bear the thought of Maylene or Iris going into the Games. I hate the Capitol for inventing something so utterly useless. I sigh, "The Games are so dumb."

"Maysilee," Iris's voice is stern, "You know we aren't allowed to talk like that. I roll my eyes. Another thing the Capitol ensures, no talking bad about the Games. Instead all 12 districts are forced to pretend like the Games is this amazing thing to be celebrated when it's really not.

"I know, but I just can't help it. We should get going," I say glancing at our old grandfather clock, "We don't want to be late again." Last year we were a couple of minutes late to the reaping because we had lost track of time. It probably didn't help the merchant section of District 12 was the furthest from the square. The peacekeepers were not very happy with us to say the least and I defiantly don't want to go through that experience for a second time.

"True," says Maylene who is positively shaking, "Let's go."

We all put our arms around one another and set off towards the square.

Haymitch Abernathy

I had high hopes that the long walk over to the other side of the Seam would clear my head, but no luck there. All I see are more and more kids passing by me who I can't help but think might end up going to the Games. I walk up to Serena's door but she pulls it open before I even have the chance to knock.

"Haymitch," she says anxiety written all over her face, "Come in."

"You're not worried, are you?" I ask Serena as I step inside her house.

"Of course, I am," she says.

"Don't worry," I say, "The odds are ever in your favour." I joke trying to lighten the mood but it has the opposite effect.

"Haymitch," she cries flinging herself onto me, "You've got your name in there twenty-four times!"

"How many do you have again?" I ask frowning at her, "Eighteen?"

"Yeah," she sniffles letting go of me, "What if it's one of us."

"We'll be okay," I say strongly, "It's going to be alright."

Once Serena's calmed down, we sit and talk like we always do. Today we talk about the Capitol and everything we hate about it. I'm only ever really myself when I'm around her.

"Here," she says handing me a platter full of cheese, "I made them myself."

I grab one and take a huge bite. "It's delicious," I say and pull her in for a kiss. She kisses me back strongly and I hold her close.

"I just can't help but think it'll be one of us," she whispers, her voice muffled against my shirt, "There's double the chance of getting in this time."

I pull her in close, "I won't let anything happen to you." I promise, knowing very well that it won't mean anything in the square.

* * *

**Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my first ever fanfiction. I'll try to post a new chapter every one to two weeks. Feel free to post a review so I know how to improve my writing. Have a great day!**


	2. The Tributes are Chosen

**Chapter 2: The tributes are chosen **

Maysilee Donner

"Welcome to the 50th Hunger Games," I hear District 12's escort Venisha Acousten say as Maylene, Iris and me rush into the square and head over to the 15-year-old girls' section. Griffin, the Head Peacekeeper glares at us but does nothing.

"And may the odds be ever in your favour!" I can't help but roll my eyes. "It is my greatest honour to be this districts escort for the Second Quarter Quell," I glare at Venisha who is all decked out in a horrendous green outfit. My eyes shift over to Reynald Guenther, District's 12 only victor. He's nearly passed out drunk, the same way he is every year. "As always, ladies first." I feel Maylene squeeze my arm tightly and I squeeze hers back in reassurance.

I look over to my right and meet Iris's eyes. She must look as scared as I feel. I grab her hand too and she smiles at me. "Good luck," she whispers, I nod mutely.

"Our first female tribute is…" Venisha reaches her hand in the bowl overfilling with names and draws one out. I hold my breath, it's so quiet you could hear a pin drop, then, "Leila Davis!" Maylene releases her death grip on my arm. No one moves. "Leila Davis, where are you?" Everyone cranes their neck to see who this unfortunate tribute is.

Suddenly a young girl stumbles out from the front of the crowd and staggers to the stage. _Why does it have to be a 12-year old, _I think. I look into her startling green eyes, something I've never seen before in District 12. She is so young and is now condemned to certain death. I can feel every citizens sympathy for the little girl but they're still holding their breath, because there are still three tributes left.

"And now for our second female tribute…" Venisha puts her hand back into the bowl and pulls yet another name out. Maylene's death grip returns and now Iris clenches my hand as well. I pray that the two next to me will not be reaped. "Our second female tribute from District 12 is Maysilee Donner!"

My heart stops. Suddenly Maylene and Iris are the only things keeping me off the ground. _No, _I think, _no, no, no, no. There has to be some kind of mistake_. I'm broken out of my trance like state by Maylene's wrecking sobs. Iris grasps my arm as if it were a lifeline.

"No!" Maylene shouts, "You can't go!" As much as it pains me, I pull myself from the grasp of my two greatest friends and walk to the stage. I would like to think that I looked calm but anyone looking closely would be able to see the horror in my eyes. I take my place next to Leila and look out at my District. This could be the last time I ever see it.

"Do we have any volunteers?" Venisha asks in her annoying chirpy voice. No one says anything. Of course, they don't. Why am I so disappointed? I guess I had a bit of hope that I wouldn't have to go. I stand there waiting to hear which unfortunate boys I may have to kill and try not to let all of Panem see the millions of emotions swirling inside of me.

Haymitch Abernathy

"And now for the boys!" I don't understand how someone's voice could still be this chirpy after two kids have basically been sentenced to death. But I guess that's just one more reason for me to hate the Capitol. I watch Reynald as he watches the two female tributes, Leila Davis and Maysilee Donner. I know Leila Davis, she's from the Seam and her father was severely injured in the coal mining accident that killed mine. I don't really know Maysilee Donner as she is a merchant's daughter and a year younger than me. It makes me sad to think that these girls are as good as dead now and I'm just grateful that Serena wasn't reaped.

I watch as Venisha sticks her hand in the other bowl. I hold my breath, I know the odds aren't in my favour, but I'm hoping against hope it's not me. She pulls a slip out, "Our first male tribute from District 12 is Haymitch Abernathy!"

It's all I can do not to gasp, to cry and to yell. None of those will help me, instead I assume a neutral expression and walk up to the stage. I'm nearing the top of the steps when someone grabs me from behind. It's Serena, clinging to me and sobbing her eyes out. Hayden runs toward us, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Haymitch no!" Serena cries, "You can't!"

All I want to do is to hug her, to kiss her, to promise her I'll be safe, but I have to act strong. "Serena, let go," I detach myself from her arms and walk stiffly up to the stage.

"Wonderful, wonderful," it takes every ounce of my will power to not punch Venisha in the face, "And now for our last tribute." She reaches inside that bowl of doom and whips out yet another slip of paper. "Our second male tribute is William McCarthy!"

I watch as a blond boy in the crowd detaches himself from the two little girls who run up and cling to him. He makes his way to the stage and I hear a gasp. Maysilee Donner has her hands over her mouth. I guess they must know each other, as they are both from the merchant part of District 12. He mounts the stage and I can tell that he is trying hard to assume the same neutral look that I have on.

I look over at my competition. Leila is condemned to certain death. I guess that she would die at the Bloodbath. Maysilee, she could probably last the first few days if she avoids the Cornucopia. She is the fastest runner in our school and quite smart. William's odds seem a lot better. He looks pretty strong and being a merchant's son would guarantee him a couple of extra pounds that someone from the Seam wouldn't have. He could probably make it to the top ten. Suddenly I feel guilty for judging them, they are just kids after all, but one look at their faces tells me that they are all judging one another as well.

"Are there any male volunteers?" Venisha asks in her dumb Capitol voice. It's dead silent, why would it be otherwise. This isn't a Career district, people from District 12 don't stand a chance in the Hunger games. After all we've only ever had one victor in 49 years. A victor who is a hopeless drunk and probably couldn't care less about the tributes he trains. I feel anger chorus through my entire body, _why can't the odds be in my favour just once._ And in that moment, I make up my mind, I'm going to win this blasted game and get back home to Hayden and mom. Then with all the riches I'll get, me and Serena will get married. "These are your District 12 tributes! Leila Davis, Maysilee Donner, Haymitch Abernathy and William McCarthy!"

There's pure silence. When no one moves Venisha says, "Shake hands tributes." We obey and take turns shaking hands. Leila Davis is shaking so hard, it's a miracle she can stay standing. Maysilee Donner shakes my hand without meeting my gaze. Her hand trembles but she does a great job of hiding it. William McCarthy looks me in the eye and smiles as he shakes my hand. He actually seems nice. The anthem plays and we are whisked away to the Justice Building.

* * *

**Author's note: Here's the second chapter. Sorry it's a little short. The next few chapters may take a little longer to come because I am getting quite busy. Please leave a review, if you want a chapter mentioning all 48 tributes. (Not all of them will be named) Have a great day!**


	3. Farewell

**Chapter 3: Farwell**

Maysilee Donner

The Justice Building has got to be the most beautiful place I have ever been in. There's a velvet couch and several paintings hanging on the grass green coloured walls. One of the paintings is of a meadow with breathtaking flowers. But even the most beautiful of things can not distract my mind from the reason why I'm here. _I've just been reaped for the 50__th__ Hunger Games. There are 48 kids this time, 47 of them will die. I'll probably be one of those 47. _Then there's the other problems, _how would Maylene and Iris feel if I die? How will my parents feel? And why, why did William have to be reaped as well? _Out of all these problems, it surprises me that the last one is bothering me the most right now. William has been my crush for as long as I can remember. I think he likes me too. But the middle of an arena does not sound like a very good spot for me to confess my feelings for him.

I sit down on the couch and briefly wonder what my family is doing now. _Probably on their way to see me. _I wonder if Maylene will cry. She probably will. We were like the role model for twins. We did everything together. The thought of competing in the Hunger Games without her is soul-crushing. She has always been by my side. I sob into my hands. _Why did this have to happen to me? Why does this have to happen at all. _I'm still crying when the door flies open.

"Maysilee!" my mom cries, wrapping me into a big hug. I see my dad over her shoulder. He is only slightly more pulled together than my mom. His eyes are red and look haunted,

"Sweetheart," his voice breaks and I think he might cry. I look over his shoulder for Maylene but she isn't there. "Maylene is coming with Iris," he says as though he has read my mind.

"You have to win Maysilee." My mom says, still sobbing.

"But mom, there's so many of us."

"You can do this Maysilee," my dad says quietly. He looks as though he's internally contemplating something. Then he holds out a pin. "Will you take this as your token?"

I take the pin in my hands and look closely at it. It's a small golden mockingjay with a golden ring around it. "Of course, I will. It's so beautiful." I smile for the first time since I was reaped, "Where did you get it?"

My dad says nothing for a few seconds, then very quietly, "It belonged to my elder brother."

I frown slightly, "You have a brother?"

He takes a deep breath, "Had. I had a brother. He was reaped for the 35th Hunger Games."

"What happened to him?" I ask, dreading the answer.

"He was in the top six. His ally, a boy from District 10, turned on him, and killed him."

I gasp, "How horrible!"

"The boy didn't win though, a girl from District 9 did. However, my brother had no survival skills and we thought that the pin was a good luck charm. He was about to take it off before he died."

"Oh," I say, "I'll make sure not to take it off then." He smiles and even mom looks a lot better. A peacekeeper comes in and tells my parents that they have to leave. They both kiss my forehead and follow the peacekeeper out. At the door my mom turns around,

"Give them all a good fight, Maysilee. We'll see you soon." She slowly turns around and the peacekeeper shuts the door in my face.

I collapse onto the couch and dissolve into tears once again. They think I can come back home. _But how can I. I'm just a girl from District 12. I don't stand a chance. _I think more about William. I really want to ally with him, because if I don't come home, I want him to. I think about his little sisters. They are so sweet and innocent. I really hope it's one of us who comes home.

My thoughts wander to the other two tributes. Leila Davis and Haymitch Abernathy. I feel so bad for the little girl, and her family. She is so young and doesn't have a chance at winning. A twelve-year old has never won, ever. But then again, the Careers don't usually consider them worth killing. Maybe she could last a little while. I think about Haymitch Abernathy, the only time I've ever really heard of him was when his father died in a coal mining accident. I know he has a younger brother but my knowledge of him ends there. I think about the girl who was in hysterics when he got chosen. _Maybe that's his girlfriend. _My thoughts are cut short when the door opens again.

Maylene and Iris throw themselves into my arms. Maylene cries into my shoulder while Iris murmurs into my other one. Maylene's heart-wrenching sobs are so loud, I can't hear what Iris is saying but knowing her, it's probably comforting things.

"Maysilee!" Maylene sobs.

"Maysilee," says Iris with tears glistening in her eyes, "You have to win."

"There's so many of us," I say, tears in my eyes as well, "And how could I kill someone?"

"You don't have to kill anyone," Maylene cries, "Just outlive them all."

"You know how unlikely that is." I say softly.

"But you have a chance." Iris says grabbing my hands, "You're a fast runner, the fastest in our grade. You're smart, you can figure something out. Just improvise."

"I'll try to win," I say, "I'll try."

Maylene breaks down completely, "Why didn't I volunteer. I'm so sorry. I should have volunteered."

"What!" I exclaim, "No! How could you even say that? I need you Maylene."

She sniffles, "But I need you too."

"Don't worry I'm going to try," I say again. I remember mom's words, "I won't go down without a fight, I promise."

Maylene starts to cry again and I turn to Iris, "Iris, can you do me a favour?" I talk quietly so Maylene won't hear.

"I'll do anything." She says softly

"If I…" I can't say the word die out loud, "If I…don't come back, will you take care of Aqua?" Aqua is my pet canary. Maylene likes him too but I know she wouldn't be able to take care of him if I died.

"Of course, I will," she breathes, "But we need you."

"I need you guys too," I whisper, "How am I going to do this without you two?" My voice cracks.

"Oh Maysilee!" Iris pulls me into a big hug. Maylene joins us and we all cling onto each other for what seems like an eternity and like half a second at the same time. The peacekeeper from before comes back in,

"It's been three minutes, you have to leave." He has a look of sympathy on his face, something very rare in Peacekeepers.

"I'll see you guys soon," I force myself to say, not believing it for a moment.

"We'll see you soon." Maylene and Iris say together as they leave. The door shuts and I am left to my own thoughts once again.

Haymitch Abernathy

The Justice Building is actually very nice. But I don't think I could ever think of it as a happy place. The only other time I've been here was when I was accepting some dumb medal of honour that they gave my family after my dad died in a coal mining accident four years ago. Like a medal would make everything okay. Like a medal could fix anything. All the other workers made it out alive, but many were gravely injured. I've always wondered why he was the one to die.

I think about everything that happened before the reaping. I had been so happy with life lately. Me and Serena were finally engaged. My mom had come to terms with my dad's death and started acting normally again. My life was finally falling into place, only to have it all ripped away from me by the Capitol.

I look around the room, there is this luxurious velvet couch, which is the most expensive looking thing I have ever seen. The walls are painted a nice blue colour, almost like the sky. There is also a little fish bowl with fish swimming inside. _They would make a good meal. _I touch the edge of the glass, wondering what it would feel like to be a fish. Free and peaceful with nothing to worry about. _They don't have to compete in the Hunger Games._

I take a deep breath. Then another. I start to pace the room. _Why me? Why is this happening to me? _I shout in rage and punch the dumb velvet couch. Over and over. After a couple of minutes of shouting, my throat starts to hurt and I plop down onto the couch which looks no different than it did before I started my one-sided punching match.

The door suddenly bursts open and my mom rushes into the room. She hugs me tight and cries into my shoulder. _She is not taking this well_. She lets go and crumbles to the floor, clearly distraught. Hayden is standing behind her fallen figure, his eyes puffy and red. I give him a big bear hug like I used too when we were younger and he was upset about something. He breaks down completely in my arms,

"Why you?" he cries, "Why not someone else?" His next words are so quiet I barely catch them, "It should have been me, not you."

I lift his face so he can see me, "Don't you ever say that Hayden." I look over at mom, who is still on the floor and my stomach twists. _It's going to be just like last time. _I lean down to ruffle Hayden's hair and whisper to him, "It's going to be fine, I'll be alright." He doesn't say anything, "Do you understand me?" He nods against my shirt,

"Is mom going to be okay?" I look at him incredulously. My little brother, only thirteen years old. Why is he worrying about mom? It should be the other way around. _She is supposed to be the mature one._

I detach myself from Hayden and walk over to mom, who is now sobbing on the carpeted floor, "Mom," I say, _"Mom!" _She looks up and I take the opportunity to launch into a speech, "You can't do it again. Distancing yourself from everything. Like you did after dad died." My words are fast and harsh, "No matter what happens to me, you have to take care of Hayden. He _needs_ you."

"What about you?" her voice is so small, it's like our roles are reversed. Like she's the young child who needs comforting and I'm the parent who always puts their child's needs first.

"You can't worry about me," I say sharply, "This is how it is, we can't do anything about it. The Hunger Games is our life. The life of everyone in the Districts. Besides I plan on coming out alive anyway." Both my mom and Hayden freeze and stare at me.

"Really?" says Hayden, his voice hopeful.

"Of course,"

"Maybe you can win," He starts to get excited, "You're good with a knife and you're smart and-"

I laugh, "Don't get ahead of yourself, there's 48 of us this year."

His face falls, "I know."

"But I'll try my best."

"Promise?"

"I promise." I say giving him a final hug.

"All right, you've had three minutes, now get out." A peacekeeper has his face half way through the door. His face is irritated looking.

Hayden clings to me, "No," he whimpers. The peacekeeper comes inside and yanks him out the room. Another one comes and drags my mom out. The two scream their goodbyes until the door slams shut and I can't hear them anymore.

I sit down and put my head in my hands. The door opens and closes. I hear a voice from in front of me,

"You have to win." I look up and see Serena standing in front of me. Her eyes are red and puffy like Hayden's were, but her face has a determined look on it. Me and her mom called that look the 'getting things done look' because when she had that look on, it meant that she would do whatever it took to get want she wanted.

"I'll try to win Serena," I say.

"Haymitch, trying won't be enough," she says plopping down on the couch next to me. I'm quite surprised. I had expected her to break down like Hayden and mom had. But then I remember how stubborn she could be.

"I know, don't worry."

"I got this for you." She held out a small gold ring, "Will you take it as your token?"

My eyes feel a bit moist, "Of course, I will."

Serena's eyes filled with tears as she pulled out an identical ring, "I know we weren't planning on getting married so soon but…"

I take her hand in mine, "But given the circumstances…" she nods and I smile, "I pledge my eternal love to you."

She smiles too, "As do I."

After a bit of silence, I smirk, "This doesn't feel very official."

"I know right."

"We could really use some bread,"

"And those official paper form things,"

"And like all the people,"

"And a house to ourselves."

"And maybe like everything else." I start to giggle, Serena looks at me like I've just grown five extra heads which makes me laugh even harder. I don't know what has come over me, I am not a laughing kind of person, but in the moment, I'm laughing so hard I can barely breathe. Serena starts to laugh as well and buries herself under my arms. It takes me a while to realize that she has started to shake. "Hey Serena, you okay?"

She looks at me with tearful eyes, "No, of course I'm not." _I guess she finally broke._

I pat her back softly, "Shh, shh, it's okay. I'll be alright." We sit for a while in the silence,

"Promise you'll come back to me," she says softly.

I remember my promise to Hayden. _Now I have two promises to keep. Good thing they're basically the same thing. _"I promise."

She takes my ring from my hand and slides it onto my finger, "Let this be your motivation." She kisses me and I kiss her back. We stay that way, clinging to each other until that same peacekeeper comes back in,

"You've had three minutes…" he trails off. I detach myself from Serena and see that he has a very weird look on his face. At first I'm confused but then I realize, it's not everyday you walk in on two teenagers kissing. Serena notices I've stopped and turns around. When she sees the peacekeeper, she glares at him and kisses me lightly on the cheek. He seems to regain his composure, "You've had three minutes, you have to get out now."

Serena gets up and smiles sadly, "I'll see you soon Haymitch."

I smile too, "See you soon." She pats my new token and follows the peacekeeper to the door. She turns back at the exit and blows me a kiss. She turns around and with that she's gone.

**Author's note: Sorry this chapter took a bit longer to upload. I've been quite busy. I've also been trying to start other fanfictions as well. However this chapter is double the length of my usual ones as I wanted to include both of the tributes families. I'm going to upload the next chapter after I get three reviews . Have a great day. **


	4. First Impressions

**Chapter 4: First Impressions**

Maysilee Donner

"Oh wow," William breathes, his eyes taking in the sight around us.

I have to agree with him, the Capitol train is possibly more colorful and decorated than all of District 12. The interior designing is plush and rich-looking. There are mahogany colored tables piled with more food than I've seen in my whole life. There are chandeliers that can only be described as heavenly. There's even a bar cart, probably due to Reynald's drinking obsession.

"You think this is nice?" Venisha says, looking at us in that happy Capitol way. "Just wait until you see your bedrooms!"

Leila looks in awe, "We get our own bedroom?"

"Well, of course you do!" Venisha chuckles, "What did you expect?"

She shifts uncomfortably before saying, "There are only two rooms in my house. My mom and I share."

Venisha looks at her oddly, "That's weird, why can't your parents share?" Leila turns a light shade of pink and stares at the floor. There is an awkward silence. I'm sure we are all thinking about Leila's dad, who had his legs blown off in a mining accident and is now bedridden for life.

I glance over at Haymitch, who has hardly spoken to anyone since we got on the train. He isn't quiet in a shy sort of way, it's more like he just doesn't care enough to talk to us. He stares at Leila and I'm sure he is thinking about his own dad.

"Wait, how are there bedrooms for all of us?" William asks, "Shouldn't there only be two?"

"Well," Venisha says, a smile creeping onto her face. "When President Snow announced the Quell, the Capitol made new trains with two extra bedrooms for all of the Districts!" Her smile falters, "But you guys will still have to share when we get to the Training Center, there wasn't enough time to build a new one."

The four of us exchange a look. Haymitch looks disgusted, Leila looks overwhelmed and William is wearing a look of pure shock and disbelief. I can't believe that the Capitol lets us starve but will make twelve new trains that will not even be used for a week.

Finally, after a solid minute of awkward silence, Haymitch speaks,

"Where's Reynald?"

"Oh," Venisha says, glancing around, "I'm sure he will be here soon."

"We're his tributes." William speaks up, "He's supposed to help us."

I'm about to agree with William, when the compartment door bangs open and our mentor stumbles in,

"Hey kiddos," Reynald slurs, dropping heavily into a chair, "What did I miss?"

Haymitch steps up, his eyes flashing with annoyance and irritation, "What do-"

"We were just talking about the arena." William says, smoothly cutting across Haymitch, stopping him from saying whatever he was going to say. "We were hoping you would be able to give us some tips."

Haymitch glares at William but I'm grateful for his interruption. If Reynald plans on being drunk, we already have to work hard for his cooperation. We definitely don't need him getting mad at us.

Reynald raises his eyebrows as he grabs a bottle of alcohol from the bar cart. "What did you say?"

"We were hoping you would give us some tips." I say, exchanging a glance with William.

Reynald laughs drunkenly and I quickly realize that Reynald is the reason District 12 only has one victor. Reynald is too busy being drunk to be of any use to anyone.

"You think I have tips for you?" Reynald slurs. "You think that if you do what I say, you might just make it out alive?"

"You're our mentor." William says as if he is trying to explain something complex to a young child. "You're supposed to tell us what to do. You're supposed to help us."

Reynald smirks, "Do you want to know the truth? You four aren't making it out of that arena." Leila bites her lip. "It'll be one of the other districts." I realize he's talking about the Career Districts. "District 12 doesn't win the Hunger Games-"

"Because you're too busy being drunk!" Haymitch snaps, his eyes flashing. I glare at Haymitch, _is he trying to get on Reynald's bad side?_

Reynald stands up, knocking his chair over. "What's your name boy?"

Haymitch crosses his arms over his chest, "Haymitch."

"Look _Haymitch_," Reynald says, "It isn't my fault that District 12 never wins. It's just that no one here has got what it takes. There's nothing I can do to help you four. With double the kids in that arena, your chance of survival is basically at zero."

"Can't you at least try?" William says, standing next to Haymitch. "Don't we deserve a chance?"

Reynald sighs, popping the cap off his bottle. "You don't understand, do you?" He pauses to take a swig of his drink. "Look at you guys, begging for my help. There is _nothing _that will help you in the arena."

"Please just try," I find myself saying, "Please, we have family to go back to." I think of Maylene and Iris. "We have people that need us."

"She's right," Leila says, speaking for the first time since Reynald entered the room, "People need us back at District 12, the least you could do is try to help one of us win."

Reynald sighs again, looking at Leila carefully. "Fine," he says, "I'll try to help you guys, just don't expect too much from me, this mentoring stuff is very," he takes a sip of alcohol, "hard."

William smiles, "So you'll help us."

"I'll _try. _But not today, give me a day to think about how I'll go about doing this."

"We don't have a lot of time." I say.

"Fine," Reynald says, lowering his bottle and sitting back into his chair. "For today, let's just do names and ages. So I can see what I'm working with."

"Maysilee Donner," I say, wondering if he is going to judge us off of what he's heard about us. "I'm 15."

"William McCarthy," William says, "I'm 15 too."

Reynald looks the two of us over, "Merchant's children, right?"

We glance at each other before nodding awkwardly.

Reynald frowns when he looks at Haymitch, "How old are you?"

Haymitch gives him a look and I roll my eyes, Haymitch seems to really want to get Reynald annoyed. "I'm Haymitch Abernathy. I'm 16."

"I'm Leila," Leila says, "Leila Davis. I'm 12. 12 and a half."

I bit my lip, thinking of this sweet little girl in the arena. Reynald's gaze lingers on her before he turns to one of the tables filled with food. Venisha, who I've completely forgotten is still in the room, has already started eating.

"The food is brilliant here." Venisha says, motioning for us to sit down. "Much better than the stuff you guys have in the Districts."

"Well not all of us are born with silver spoons in our mouths." Haymitch mumbles as he sits down, as far away as he can get from the rest of us. I roll my eyes for what seems like the tenth time today before taking a seat in between William and Leila.

"This stuff looks amazing!" Leila says, her eyes glowing.

I have to agree, usually back at District 12, a normal meal would be a small soup or a slice of bread. Even people like me, who live in the merchant's section don't get much more than that.

But this train has more food than I probably have eaten in my whole life. There are tasty looking soups, stews, rolls, breads, and other things I don't even know the name for.

"Here," William says, handing me a slice of bread, "This tastes so good." His plate is already filled. Leila is gulping down a bowl of soup and even Haymitch looks a little excited. He tries to control himself, but even he is shoving food into his mouth. I take the slice of bread from William and bite into it. I sigh with pleasure, it tastes like heaven. I bite into it again and again, not even caring who sees me.

"Manners, you guys!" Venisha scolds, but no one is really listening to her. She sighs before adding, "You know, if you eat everything all at once, you'll get sick."

We all pause to stare up at her.

"Oh yes," she continues, happy to have our attention, "It happens every year. I suggest you don't let it happen to you."

William and Leila simply sigh before slowing down the pace of their eating. Feeling truth in Venisha's words, I do the same, turning to the soup, hoping perhaps I will eat slower with something so hot. Haymitch however, seems unable to avoid a fight.

"Who are you to tell us how much we can eat?" Haymitch asks, his voice annoyed and snarky. "We've spent our whole lives starving and now we are going to be fighting to the death with forty-seven other kids. All for the entertainment of the twisted Capitol. I think we deserve to eat our first actual meal in peace."

Venisha looks slightly put off and irritated, and honestly I don't blame her. I have only been around Haymitch for a few short hours and I already don't like him. He acts like he's way too good for all of us.

"Watch it boy," Reynald says, "With a mouth like that, you'll be the first to die in the arena."

Haymitch scoffs and turns back to his bread.

For the rest of the dinner I chat with William and Leila. We talk about school, our friends, our family, anything we can to get to know each other. Haymitch eats silently but I can tell that he is listening to our conversation. Venisha happily chatters with Reynald, who seems as though he can't wait to get away from her, probably so he can drink in peace.

"And then, Aria just starts singing," William laughs as he talks about his sisters. "Can you believe that? In the middle the night. Then Lielle joined her and they were singing so loud, I thought all of District 12 would wake up."

"I didn't hear them. I wish I did though." I say, "Then I could have joined them."

Leila is grinning from ear to ear. "Yeah."

William fake groans, leaning back into his chair. "I think four girls singing at the top of their lungs wold be too much for me too handle. Just think of the noise, think of my poor ears."

Leila dissolves into sweet giggles. William's blue eyes are sparkling, his lips curving into yet another smile.

"You're so lucky that you have two siblings." Leila says, "I hate being an only child."

William's face falls and then goes back to a smile so quickly that if I hadn't been watching him, I would have been sure to miss it.

"Yup," he says, I notice his eyes aren't happy anymore. "I'm really lucky to have my sisters." He turns to me, "Maylene is your twin, right?"

There is a gaping hole that opens inside me when I think of Maylene. "Yes," I say, my voice quivering slightly. I bit my lip, I can't possibly be this weak.

William gives me a sad smile. "She'll be okay." He says softly, "We're the ones in the Games, not them."

There's a pause, then Leila turns to Haymitch, who has been watching us. " What about you? Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

He gives her a look which I think is meant to be a smirk or maybe a small smile. "I have a little brother."

"What's his name?"

"Hayden."

"How old is he?"

"Thirteen."

Leila opens her mouth to ask another question and Haymitch quickly turns back to his food.

William leans over and whispers into my ear, "Antisocial much."

I smirk, "No kidding."

He raises his eyebrows jokingly and reaches for two slices of that bread we both love so much.

The rest of dinner passes by uneventfully. Me and William talk more about our lives in District 12. It pains me to think of Maylene and Iris but it's easier to talk with him then it would be to anyone else here. Haymitch would probably scoff at me and I think to hear any more about Leila's life would completely break me down. She has no chance of winning and she must know that, but still she's smiling, something I would never be able to do had I been reaped that young.

Two Avoxes comes by with platters of desserts. The girl has chocolate brown hair and beautiful hazel eyes while the boy is blond with blue eyes. I feel sadness rise in me for two of them, especially the girl, who looks to be maybe only a handful of years older than me. I wonder briefly what they could have done to evoke the Capitol's wrath. But then again, the Capitol punishes for even the smallest of crimes.

I don't know how awful it must feel to never be able to speak. Haymitch has gone quiet, well more quiet than before, and takes his choice of dessert, a slice of pie, with a silent nod of thanks. William and Leila both reach for chocolate mousse and say thank you. The Avoxes simply nod. I take a slice of vanilla cake from the girl Avox with a sad smile, unable to put all my feelings into words. She seems to understand how I feel, her gaze lingers on me for a little while before the two of them retreat back to a different compartment.

Venisha attempts to make some conversation as we eat our dessert. It doesn't work and dessert passes by in near silence. I just don't feel like talking, especially to Venisha. I can't help but think about the Avoxes, the Capitol and the life that I have left behind in District 12.

"Shall we watch the reaping then?" Venisha asks after we have all finished eating.

The six of us walk into another compartment of the train, this one is set like a living room, with couches and a T.V. I, for a moment, smile at the irony, because this is the place that is bringing us to our death.

Reynald plops onto an armchair, only a little shakily for a man who has probably already had two full bottles of wine during dinner alone. Or it could be that he is so used to drinks that it takes much more to affect him now. "You know, usually it's just the Seam kids that get chosen." He says, gesturing for us to sit.

"Well I'm sure we've all had our fair share of taking out tesserae." William says as he sits down on a couch, making space for me. Leila curls up into the armchair next to us.

Haymitch scoffs, "What's your definition of fair share? How much tesserae could _you_ have possibly taken. One, two?"

William's face hardens and I jump to defend him.

"Just because you're from the Seam," I snap, "Doesn't mean that your life has been _so _much harder than ours. You know _nothing_ about our lives, _nothing._ It may come as a shock to you but you don't know everything. So stop acting like you do."

Haymitch smirks and raises his eyebrows. The room is deadly silent and I feel myself flush with embarrassment. I quickly sit down next to William and look in the other direction.

Venisha clears her throat and turns on the recap of the reapings.

I glare at Haymitch as the anthem plays, _how can one person be so annoying?_ William nudges me and my eyes return to the screen.

The sheer amount of kids being sent to their doom is overwhelming. The reaping is clips after clips of names being called, blank faces, crying families, and shaking bodies. There are so many faces that only a few stand out to me.

The first girl from District 1 volunteers with a huge smile on her face, as though she is sure that she'll bring home the victory. A pair of twelve year olds are called from District 6. A young girl, maybe about 14, is called from District 9. An older boy, clearly her brother, runs to her, distraught. Then, to the shock of everyone in the room, the boy is reaped next. They cling to each other, sobbing, until the Peacekeepers lead them away. There is an older girl from District 10, who holds her head up high as she walks to the stage.

I watch as Venisha is introduced. Leila is reaped, them I am. I watch as Maylene and Iris hug me, sobbing. It looks much more heart-wrenching on screen, however I look more calm than I felt when I was reaped. William squeezes my hand reassuringly. Haymitch is reaped next. I watch as the boy I now know is his brother claps a hand over his mouth. As Haymitch walks to the stage, he breaks free of the crowd and runs to him The girl who I guess is his girlfriend, runs up behind him, crying. I look over at Haymitch, his face shows no emotion but his hands are trembling. As irritating as he is, I feel bad for him. William is reaped last. A young girl, who I now know is Lielle, screams as she breaks free of the crowd and runs to hug him. His other sister, Aria, cries as she runs to him as well. You can hardly notice me gasp when I realize that my crush has been reaped. I notice that on the corner of the screen, William's mother is hysterical, she's screaming and is being held upright by a man who can only be William's father. I see my parents in the crowd, looking utterly heart-broken.

William is shaking beside me. Not uncontrollably, but enough to show that he is disturbed. I give his hand a squeeze and he squeezes back. The Panem anthem plays again and the screen goes black.

Venisha claps her hands, "Well, you guys should get some sleep. Tomorrow is a big day after all!"

I almost groan. Tomorrow we'll arrive in the Capitol and get all beautified to be in the Tribute Parade. Maylene was always the one who liked to play dress up, not me. I'm certain that we will be dressed in those ugly coal miner costumes, just like the tributes of District 12 are dressed up, year after year.

Reynald heads off to his compartment and the four of us follow Venisha as she shows us to our own compartments. We all say quick good nights and eagerly step into the rooms of luxury.

My room has a baby blue theme to it. The walls and ceiling are painted in the blue color with clouds and stars. The bed is soft and cozy. There is a wardrobe filled with more clothes than what my entire family owns. I peer inside and see silk pajamas. I peel off my clothes, set my mockingjay pin on the bedside table and slip into the luxurious night clothes.

The tears that I have kept at bay for the past few hours finally spill. I clench a pillow in my hands as I sob. The weight of everything seems to hit me at once, worse than it has before.

I'm not going home. I'm going to die at the hands of the Capitol's twisted creation. I'll never hear Maylene laugh again or see Iris smile at the beautiful things in life. I'll never smell the flowers that grow outside my house and I'll never taste the delicious candies that my parents make. District 12 will never see me again.

I'm going to watch little kids die, and be killed myself. It's not fair, none of this is.

I let out another sob before curling up into bed. I whisper a good night to my sister, who is all alone in our room and try to let sleep consume me.

Of course, it isn't that easy.

_The sun shines down on me and it's all I can do to not close my eyes. The Cornucopia is right in front of me. The countdown is at ten and I'm staring into a vast forest. I'm about to change to a running position when a girl appears in front of me. It's a girl from District 1, her sadistic looking smile tells me that she is ready for her first kill. I try to run but my feet are rooted to the ground. She whips out a pair of knives. There is a shout and someone comes running towards us. The girl throws her knife and the boy falls over, dead. It's William. I want to scream but no noise comes out. She holds up her remaining knife to my face and other Careers join her. They all smile, pulling out their weapons of choice. I shrink back as they strike, one by one. Pain consumes me and I fall to the ground. Their laughs ring in my ears...again and again..._

I wake with a startled cry. I thrash around and fall out of the bed, hitting my arm on the floor. I squeeze my eyes shut and whisper, "You're safe, the Games haven't started. No one is going to hurt you."

I wipe tears from my eyes and crawl back into the bed, twisting my blankets around me like a cocoon. More tears threaten to fall and I struggle to keep them at bay. I decide to let them spill, I'm all alone here, I don't need to act strong.

It seems as though I've been staring at the ceiling for hours. I can't sleep, not with the chance of nightmares. I briefly wonder what my fellow tributes are doing. I wonder if this night has been plagued with night terrors for them as well. I was always a sound sleeper as a kid, I always fell asleep first at sleepovers and I was definitely a morning person. Now I was desperate for just an hour of sleep. Who knew such a simple task could be so hard?

* * *

**Finally an update! This** **chapter was supposed to have both perspectives but it got so long (almost 4K words) that I decided to have Haymitch's perspective in the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a great day!**


	5. The Capitol

**Chapter 5: The Capitol**

Haymitch Abernathy

I toss and turn in my sleep...

_I'm in a forest. It's lush and green. But I'm not happy. I'm scared._

_There are bodies all around me. Dead. For some reason, I lean down to look at the still faces of two boys. That's when I hear a canon._ I straighten slowly and turn around.

_A group of kids, careers, are straight for me._

_Suddenly_, _I'm running, running so hard that I'm sure that I'm going to collapse. I see a door and race into the room, not caring what is on the other side. Anything is better than this._

_The room I find my self in is so much worse than the arena could ever be._

_A horrifyingly familiar place looks back at me, enclosing me in its deathly walls. I'm in the coal mining elevator. It's huge. And filled with thick, dark grey smoke._

_I can't breathe, it's everywhere. I have to find my dad, he must be here. He is always here._

_"Dad!" I shout, reaching through the haze for him. "Dad!"_

_"Haymitch," the voice is faint and far away. I feel my way through the fog, not caring when I bump into people at every step._

_Finally, I see my dad slouched against the wall. "Father!" I skid to my knees beside him, hacking as smoke enters my lungs. "What's going on?"_

_He looks up and I watch as his eyes go wide with panic, "Haymitch, what are you doing?" I start to speak but he cuts me off, "Run! Run!"_

_"Dad-"_

_The room explodes. I'm thrown into the air and land sharply on my back. My eyes are clenched shut against my will. I force them open._

_I'm laying in the rubble, a loud ring in my ears. I wipe at one and my hand comes away bloody, I grimace. I look around, all I see are the bodies of men. Unmoving. Dead._

_I feel my breathing quicken. My dad is here, I know he is. He has to be. I get to my feet slowly. "Dad?"_

_The amount of bodies is overwhelming at first but I need to find him. I turn over stiff bodies, feeling a twisted sense of relief when my father's face is not staring at me._

_There is a sound. A cry of pain. No, not a cry, much weaker. Almost like the whimper of a dying animal. I move slowly, freezing when I recognize the shaking body on the floor just meters from where I am. There is no mistaking my dad._

_"Dad!" I run to him and gasp at what I see. He's bleeding everywhere and most of his limbs are twisted in odd ways._

_"Haymitch," I can hardly hear his choked whisper, "Haymitch, I love you, my son."_

_"No!" I shout, "Don't say that! I'll get us some help. Come on."_

_He covers my hand with his bloodied one, "Son, take care of your brother, he needs you. Help mom, she'll need it when I'm gone."_

_"Dad," I sob, "Please-"_

_"I love you." He goes still and his hand drops from mine. I cry out and frantically search for a pulse. For anything. There is nothing. He is dead._

"Dad!"

I awake with a gasp, nearly falling off of the bed. I suck in a deep breath, trying in vain to fill my lungs with oxygen. My hands tremble as I run them through my hair, telling myself that it's okay, that it was just a dream, a nightmare. But why do they always have to feel so real?

"Haymitch," I whisper to myself, "Stop it. You're okay, you're in a bedroom on a train. You're not in the mines, you have never even been there. And you are not in the arena, at least not yet."

My nails dig into my palms as I clench my hands into fists. I will myself to not think of the Games. Instead, my mind wanders to the other tributes. Maysilee, Leila, and William. The three of them seemed to have gotten on Reynald's good side whereas I messed up everything from the start. Maysilee, specifically, seems to be very annoyed with me. I bite my lip as I remember the conversation they had about their siblings, Leila had asked me about Hayden. I can't even think about Hayden without feeling overwhelmed. Is he okay? Is mom even taking care of him? Or is she wallowed in her grief, not taking care of the thirteen-year-old who needs her?

Watching the reaping recaps was tough. All those kids being sent to their death. Well, for 47 of them it will be death. Their families will suffer as they watch their loved ones die on national television. The last one to remain will gain the title of Victor. It's all just so messed up. I think of the promise I made to Hayden and Serena, that I would come home to them. But after seeing the tributes known as Careers, I'm not so sure anymore.

No matter how nad I feel for them all, especially the ones near Hayden's age, I know I can't ally with them. We would end up having to either seperate, kill each other, or watch each other be killed. I don't even know how I could even trust anyone. I have a hard time getting along with the kids in my own district. After all, this is the Hunger Games.

The others may seem fine but I know that they aren't. How could they be after all? This is the Hunger Games. I think of the emptiness I saw in the eyes of Maysilee and William when they talked about their siblings. And I think about the way Leila kept fidgeting and the look on her face when she thought no one was looking. She looked as though she would break into tears that moment she was alone. I'm impressed though, in front of us, she seems happy.

At least they all seem to have gotten along pretty well. I bet they will ally in the Games and not even bother to ask me to join them. To the three of them, I must seem like an arrogant teenager who doesn't care.

I sigh and pull out Serena's ring from my pocket. I finger it slowly, wishing that she could be here with me. Right now, I would give anything for the feel of her arms wrapped around mine. I smile at the thought, but immediately want to kick myself for even thinking of that. Because to have her here with me would mean that she would also be going to the Games. And that is one of the worst things I can imagine.

I feel myself start to shake again, so I force myself out of the bed. Maybe exploring this room will distract me.

It turns out that exploring a compartment of a train made by the Capitol is very interesting, and distracting, as I had hoped. I have a suspicious feeling that the stuff in this room alone is worth more than everything in my entire house.

There are two wardrobes, each filled with clothes, which is strange because I only need one set of clothes, not twenty. I guess the Capitol likes to give the tributes many clothing options. Seeing as we won't get to pick anything else in our lives from now on.

After some rummaging around, I find a light blue shirt and dark blue pants. They are the closest thing to the clothes I have at home yet everything about them screams new and expensive, while the clothes at my house used to be my dad's. I shake my head, _stop, don't think about him. You can't think about him now._

I pull on the clothes and grab a comb off the nightstand table. After the previous night, my hair is a mess of tangles. I yank the comb through my hair as I inspect the shower.

Once we had gotten into our rooms the previous night, I had immediately gone for a shower. Not only did I get myself looking clean and presentable, but I also got to scream and even let a few tears fall without anyone noticing. A double win for me.

I yawn, I'm really tired, having gotten only a few hours of sleep last night. I wish that I could take another shower, which would probably make me feel a little more awake, but I know that I should get ready for the day ahead.

I settle for washing my face with all the fancy soaps, they do a good job of hiding the shadows under my eyes. I briefly wonder if the other tributes are awake. They probably are as I can hear faint movements coming from the other compartments.

I frown at myself in the mirror. Although I look decent, my hair is still in tangles. I grab the comb once more and yank it, even harder this time, through my dark brown hair.

"It's time to wake up! You four have a big day ahead of you!"

The sudden knock on the door makes me jump. I recognize the voice as Venisha, who I am certainly not very fond of. Her Capitol attitude just makes me so angry. I grimace as the comb rips through a particularly bad tangle. Oh well, at least my hair is fine now.

I walk into the living room styled compartment where I see Leila, Venisha, and Reynald waiting. Venisha is all decked out, today in a dark purple outfit. Reynald seems pretty sleep-deprived, I would guess that he is hungover. I inwardly sigh, that would just make today _even _more fun. I glance over at Leila who is looking at her feet. Her eyes are red and her lip is quivering slightly. Remembering how I ignored her yesterday, I give her a small wave, which she returns, giving me a small smile.

William walks into the compartment and Maysilee arrives just a few minutes later. William looks fine but I can see that he didn't have a good night. Maysilee looks just as bad as Leila, maybe even a little worse. Reynald gives us all a look that I hope is supposed to be pitying instead of whatever he means it to be. Although I hate people feeling bad for me, I would rather that than them not even noticing that something is wrong, which is what Venisha is doing. Either she genuinely does not realize that the four kids in front of her had probably one of the worst nights of their lives or she has seen our expressions way too many times for it to matter to her. Nevertheless, Venisha is as bright and happy as ever, if not a little irritated by our poor punctuality.

"Well, now that you four are _finally _here," she says, giving Maysilee and William a pointed look. "We can have breakfast!"

I bite back a retort and settle for rolling my eyes. William and Maysilee exchange a look. The six of us enter the compartment that we had dinner in yesterday. There is already breakfast laid out for the six of us. I remember seeing all the food from yesterday, that food from then alone is more than I've ever had in my life. As I eye all the delicious looking breakfast foods, I have a strong urge to ship it back to District 12 where it will be more helpful than it ever would be here.

Everyone else is seated and waiting for me to join them. I push all thoughts of District 12 out of my mind and sit down at the far end of the table. I don't understand how the other tributes can stand to become so attached to each other. In the end, three of us, if not all four of us, will be dead.

"Haymitch dear," Venisha's voice cuts into my thoughts. "Aren't you going to eat?"

I look over at everyone else, they have all started eating. I look over at all the food, only now I realize how foreign everything looks. I recognize the eggs, different types of toast, and coffee, which I had only ever seen the mayor drink before, but everything else is new.

Leila is giddily examining all the food. Maysilee and William seem to be doing the same, exchanging smiles.

"What are these called?" Leila asks, pointing to some plates in the center. One has what looks like stacks of flat bread while others look like rolls of some sort and things floating in milk.

"Well, those," Venisha says, gesturing to the stacks of flat bread, "are called pancakes. Those are breakfast rolls with a filling made of chocolate and fruit. And those," she taps one of the bowls with milk inside, "are bowls of cereal."

Maysilee picks up a cup with brown liquid. It is too light to be coffee and seems darker than tea, which is also here. "What's this?"

Venisha smiles, "That, my dear, is hot chocolate. It is, in my opinion, the best drink that has ever been invented." She hands us all a cup of the hot brown liquid. "You should try some."

The two girls immediately try the drink. I watch as their faces light up in delight.

"Oh wow," Maysilee says, a grin on her face, "That is delicious."

I smell the drink and a wistful smile plays at my lips before I can stop it. It smells heavenly. Controlling my emotions, I don't need the whole world to know how I feel, I take a sip of the hot chocolate. It tastes like everything I love in one sip. Almost as if someone caught the taste of pure delight and stuck it in this drink. A noise of pleasure escapes me but luckily everyone is too busy talking to pay any attention to me.

Leila has a breakfast roll in her hand. She gives it a hard look before dunking it in her hot chocolate and biting off the part of the sugared roll that is wet. She almost squeals in excitement.

"Leila," William says, turning to the young girl next to him. "What is it?"

"This," Leila says around a mouthful of hot chocolate and rolls, "is the most amazing combination I have ever tasted!"

William smiles and both he and Maysilee try what Leila did. They smile.

"You're right, Leila," Maysilee says. "This _is _good."

The rest of breakfast passes by pretty uneventfully. Leila, Maysilee, and William talk some more while Venisha tries to get Reynald to engage in a conversation with her. I feel like the two of them could actually get along if Reynald wasn't so grumpy all the time.

I taste a few pancakes, which are amazing. I can't help but think that Serena would love them. The same way Hayden would go absolutely crazy if he tried the hot chocolate, the same way Leila did. Only he would probably shriek and refuse to ever drink anything else. I make a quick promise to myself, if I win, I'll be sure to get Hayden some hot chocolate.

I stifle another yawn, I really am tired. I eye the coffee. My mom said it was almost like tea, which we had often, only coffee was stronger and helped keep you energized and feeling awake. That would explain why the mayor is always drinking cups of the thing.

I pour myself a small bit of coffee and smell it suspiciously. It smells weird, not sweet like tea does. I see Reynald watching me, dislike evident on his face. I couldn't care less about what he thinks, but he is the only person who can help me win the Games. I take a sip of the coffee slowly, and almost gag at the bitter taste. I'm about to push it away, thinking that I will just stick with the hot chocolate, when I see Reynald smirk. He obvious thinks I can't handle the taste. I'll show him. I down the rest of the coffee. It actually isn't that bad and it did give me a fair amount of energy.

The others are finishing up their breakfast. I shift in my chair to watch them, they are all talking about who knows what. William and Maysilee seem to be very close, closer than they could have become in less than a day. I wonder if they were friends back at District 12. I think about the way William looks at her when she isn't looking, if I didn't know better, I would say that he had a crush on her, maybe she even could have had the same feelings for him.

"Oh, finally," Reynald says. I look over at him and see that he has a bottle of alcohol in his hand. My stomach twists when I see one of the Avoxes from last night standing behind him. I feel so bad for them, the Capitol is truly messed up. "I thought I would never get something to drink." Reynald takes a swig of alcohol and I feel disgust rise from within me.

"Are you _seriously_ going to drink that?" I ask, surprised at how arrogant I sound. This must be why the other tributes seem to think so lowly of me. I regret the question almost the moment it leaves my lips but there is no talking back my words.

"Look kid," Reynald says, annoyance evident in his voice. "Don't tell me what I can or cannot do. Why can't I drink this? I don't have anything better to do anyway."

"You said you would help us today," William says.

Reynald frowns, "Did I say that?"

I roll my eyes, "Yes, you did. Do you seriously not remember? Or are you _trying_ to let us die?" Maysilee shots me a warning glare and I look away.

Reynald sighs and sets down his bottle. "Alright, what are you kids good at?"

There's silence. I want to say something but I'm not going to risk having everybody get mad at me. I can tell that the others want to speak as well.

"Well," Reynald says, moving as though to pick up his bottle again, "If you can't help yourselves, how can you expect me to help you?"

"I'm strong," William says when no one else speaks, "That could be helpful because I can do hand to hand fighting, although I'll try not to. And-"

"What happened there?" Reynald interrupts. When William gives him a blank look, he adds, "On your arm, what happened," he points to a long thin scar on William's arm that I had never noticed before. By the surprised look on Maysilee's face, she hasn't seen it before either.

William looks down, his face turning red, "Nothing," he mutters.

Reynald crosses his arms, "Nothing, huh?"

He sighs and mumbles something.

"What did you say?"

"I got into a fight with a Peacekeeper. He whipped me."

I watch as Maysilee and Leila exchange looks. I frown, vaguely remembering when kids getting whipped for no reason used to be super common. Now it is only reserved for things like illegal sales of any kind and deliberately provoking a peacekeeper. But William seems so kind, I can't imagine him stealing something. Or being so dumb as to pick a fight with a peacekeeper. Maybe he just got in the way.

"So," Reynald chuckles, "You have a battle scar."

William frowns, "I guess."

"That would be a nice story." Reynald is smiling, I guess the alcohol is already having an effect. "We could say you got it fighting another tribute, or-"

"I'm not really interested in having it shown to the world," William says quietly.

Reynald looks disappointed although I have to agree with William. Who would want their scars shown to the world? "What about you," he waves a hand in Maysilee's direction. "Got anything worth my time?"

She looks rather nervous. "Well, I'm good at running. My friend, Iris," I vaguely remember the apothecary's daughter, "used to teach me a bit healing. I can climb trees if the branches are short enough and I can cook basic meals."

Reynald raises his eyebrows, "So, you basically do survival skills?"

"Yes."

"No weapons?"

"I'm not really a violent sort of girl."

Reynald smirks, "If you want to live past the bloodbath, you'll need to change that." He turns to Leila, "What about you?"

Leila bites her lip but keeps Reynald's gaze. "I'm smart. I'm the top of my class, the top of my grade actually. I can climb trees. I don't use any weapons."

Reynald purses his lips, "I guess I can find a way to work with that. What about you, Haymitch?"

I dig my brain for something impressive, "I'm decently smart. Not top of the grade or anything but I know my stuff. I can use a knife, I'm pretty good."

"So," Reynald looks at William, "we've got strong nice guy," his gaze shifts to Maysilee, "survival skills girl," he gives Leila a look that I can't find the meaning of, "smart little girl, and arrogant knife guy." I roll my eyes. "Alright, I'll see what I can do."

"Everyone, look!" The five of us spin and see Venisha, who is pointing out the window. I had almost forgotten that she was here. "We've arrived at the Capitol, come see!"

Maysilee and Leila exchange excited looks and rush to the window. William is quick to follow.

"Oh, wow," Leila says, awe clear in her voice. "It's huge!"

Reynald looks at me and shrugs, saying, "It's not that great, don't get too excited." He joins the others but stays away from the window.

The two girls are waving at the Capitol citizens and I almost recoil in shock. _How can they even look at those horrible people? Knowing that they have stood by and let the Games happen, they even enjoy them! _Of course, I know that gushing and acting excited gets many sponsors, I've watched the interviews enough to know that, but I don't think that I could ever smile at the people who let us die.

I stand near William, who for some reason doesn't seem too eager to see the Capitol either. I would have thought he would be waving as well, as he seems like a big people-person, I guess everyone has their secrets.

"You two should be waving," Reynald sighs. "This is your first impression on the Capitol. Make it a good one."

I mumble, "You're one to talk," but me and William stand behind the girls, giving fake waves and smiling fake smiles.

The Capitol really is beautiful, in a way that makes me wish to destroy it. Their are buildings and trees more extravagant than anything I have ever seen. There is a waterfall, pouring with enough water per minute to feed all of District 12 for a month. The citizens themselves are a much different story. They look absolutely hideous. Venisha seems decent enough compared to the wild mess of clashing wigs and horribly done makeup from the citizens that I can see even from inside the train. The Capitol wastes its money looking ridiculous and betting on the fate of teenagers. It's so messed up!

The train pulls into the station and I'm spared from having to look at the Capitol for even one more minute. My relief quickly fades however, when I realize that it must be time to get ready for the Chariot Rides. I can't think of having to do anything worse than being dressed up for the Capitol, well having to compete in the Games are worse than this, but this is a close second. I brace myself for the torturous few hours that I'm sure will follow now.

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! You got to learn a little more about my version of a younger Haymitch and more about his fellow tributes. Also, in case you haven't noticed, the Haymitch in my story is much more reserved and soft than he is in canon. I think that the Games would have changed him and made him more hard and turn towards drinking. Tell me what you think of the way I wrote him. With the prequel coming out, everyone is guessing that District 12's first victor was a girl but I'm not going to change anything (Reynalda would sound hilarious). **

**Also, I'm so sorry that this chapter took two whole months to come out, I hope it was worth the wait (it's another 4K words chapter). I think it would be cool to do a smaller chapter in another characters point of view. Maybe not the next one but the one after. Ii doesn't have to be a tribute, it can be a Capitol citizen or someone from District 12 as well. I'm open to any requests (if I get many, you may even see multiple points of view)!**


	6. Coal and Chariots

**Chapter 6: ****Coal and Chariots**

Maysilee Donner

"Ouch," I gasp as the three members of my prep team proceed to yank every body hair I've ever had right off my body. "Could you guys at least _try _to be more gentle?"

"Sorry," says Celestavia, giving me an apologetic smile. She's probably my favourite out of the three of them. She's definitely the nicest. With her gold highlights and sparkly makeup, she looks the most like a District person, just fancied up. Idum is okay. He has what I think is natural auburn hair, I've never seen a colour like it before. He seems pretty quiet. I guess he just doesn't really have an opinion on how I should look. It's fine, I understand, I'm not the most beautiful person to ever walk in here so there isn't much to marvel at. Although people have always called me pretty, with my shiny blonde hair and deep blue eyes, I was never downright beautiful. Maybe Maylene and Iris but not me.

"Don't whine, Maysilee. It isn't fitting of a young lady to do so."

Hestia is absolutely horrible. She's the one practically torturing me so I look, in her eyes _absolutely perfect, _for my stylist. She looks just like all the Capitol citizens I saw when we first arrived in the Capitol. Her skin is a light shade of pink, her hair is a darker shade of the same colour, and even her hands are covered in drawings. I don't have much time to think about the other Capitol citizens I've seen before Hestia starts going on about my posture.

"For heaven's sake, Maysilee! Stop slouching!"

I grit my teeth as another layer of my body hair comes off.

Finally, the waxing is over. Celestavia begins to work on my hair, curling it into soft beach waves, while Idum works on my nails, painting them a solid black. No decorations, no nothing.

There's a sinking feeling in my stomach. There is no doubt that the four of us will be dressed up in some sort of mining costume, it's what they do every year. We are going to look ridiculous.

I'm jolted out of my thoughts when Hestia starts plucking at my eyebrows. I jerk back with a wince. Who knew that being beautiful in the Capitol was so painful. I almost feel bad for them, _almost._

Idum drops my hand and steps back. "All done."

I smile. "Thanks."

I examine my nails carefully; at least they are shiny. But I just don't understand how we can get sponsors if they won't be able to recognize us through our ugly outfits. It's as though everyone has written us off already.

Hestia finally moves away. "They're okay, not perfect but acceptable." I feel my eyebrows which have been plucked to a fine curved line. She sighs in annoyance. "I wish you guys in the Districts could care more about their looks. It would make our job so much easier."

I feel myself flush with anger. I bite my lip, angering Hestia won't help with anything. Instead, I smile and don't say everything I wish I could.

Celestavia seems to understand how I feel because she squeezes my shoulder reassuringly and hands me a mirror. My hair at least is prettier than I've ever had it.

But Hestia continues, "Seriously, why do I even bother working with District 12. You should have seen the kids from here last year; scrawny little things. I'll bet the girl had never even heard the word_ waxing _in her whole life! Can you believe it?"

I grit my teeth. She is really testing my patience. "We have other things to worry about," I say, trying not to sound too angry but my patience is wearing thin. "Like not starving to death."

Hestia looks offended but Celestavia gives me a secret smile and pats my shoulder. Huh, maybe not all Capitol citizens are the same.

Finally, my pampering is over and it's time for me to get into my outfit for the parade. I'm nervous. I wonder what Maylene and Iris will think when they see me all beautified. I hope they will be able to move on once I'm dead.

My stylist walks in after about five minutes. He has silver drawings on his face and arms. His nails are covered in jewels and he has piercings on his ears. He gives me a warm smile and introduces himself.

"Hi," he shakes my hand, "I'm Maximus, your stylist."

I introduce myself and we start to talk about my costume for the Tribute Parade.

"So," I say, hoping for a good answer, "what will I be wearing for the parade?"

He grins and holds out a bag. "The three other stylists and I talked it out." I realize that the Capitol must have actually hired 48 stylists this year. "And we've agreed that the usual costume seems fit for you four as well." He hands me the bag. "Take a look for yourself."

With a sinking stomach, I peer inside the bag. The moment I catch sight of a hat with headlights, I groan. It looks like all of Panem will see me dressed as a coal miner.

Haymitch Abernathy

I glare silently at my prep team as they leave the room, leaving me alone with my stylist. I will not be forgiving them anytime soon for all the pain they just caused me. I mean, who cares if I'm hairy? Not me.

One of them, a man with blueish skin, waves goodbye but I don't bother to wave back. I haven't even bothered to figure out their names. It's not like knowing their names will help me in the arena.

My stylist introduces herself as Evangeline and starts talking excitedly about my outfit for the parade. She pulls out a pair of black pants and a matching shirt from a bag swinging off her arm. I feel my stomach clench.

"Is that seriously my costume?"

Evangeline looks slightly offended. "Of course it is. Us four stylists," I roll my eyes when I realize that the Capitol was able to get 48 stylists for us. "thought that you guys would look great in this outfit. Your District does coal mining so it'll be an absolute winner."

"So, I'm a coal miner." I try to keep the disbelief out of my voice. In all honesty, I should have expected this. District 12, coal mining, of course, I'm going to be dressed like my District's main profession. I don't know how I'm going to survive the parade. How can I be dressed in the same outfit that killed my dad?

I'm so lost in my thoughts that I don't notice that Evangeline has held out the clothes to me. I jerk back and the shirt sleeve rubs against my arm. To me, it feels like acid has burned me where it touches.

"What's wrong?" Evangeline asks. "I thought you guys would like it."

She sounds so genuinely hurt that I decide to tell her the truth. "My dad was a coal miner."

She obviously doesn't understand, for she brightens up. "That's wonderful." She smiles at me. "So you'll be dressed like your dad. What a great way to make him proud."

"My dad's dead." I say flatly.

"Oh," she finally seems to understand. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize." Of course, she didn't. "It's just too late to change your outfit. I'm sure you understand. I really am sorry."

For a Capitol citizen, she isn't too bad. Much better than my prep team at least. And she does actually seem sorry, a feat of which I always thought Capitol citizens weren't capable of. I decide I may actually like her.

"It's alright, I guess. But I don't really want to wear it."

She frowns thoughtfully. "We can't change the costume but I guess you could just not look at it? It won't bother you as much."

I agree but decide not to point out that I won't have a choice when I see my District partners, or that I'll be able to see myself on the screen during the parade. My stomach drops again. _What will my mom think when she sees me? _I just know that she will hate it. Her son, in the Capitol, dressed a miner. I hope she doesn't slip away, Hayden needs her.

Evangeline dresses me while I stare absentmindedly at the wall. Her idea actually isn't too bad, I can put off looking at the Capitol version of those clothes for just a while longer. My thoughts start to wander until I'm thinking of the Games.

I need to win. I need to go back home. But how could I ever kill someone? Maybe I will when the time is right, but the thought of killing a child is far too much to bear. My mind shows me images of blood, of explosions, of cries of shock and fear. The room starts to tilt and I dig my freshly sharpened nails into my palms. I can't think about that now.

Once I'm done being dressed, Evangeline reminds me to smile and wave during the parade. I roll my eyes, hating to obey the Capitol standards, but agree. After all, she must know more about the parade than I do.

Evangeline tells me to head down to the ground floor of the Remake Center while she catches up with the other District 12 stylists. When I reach the gathering place I take a minute to observe my fellow tributes.

Most of the Districts are sticking together, not straying far from their chariots. However, the Careers are all socializing together and getting to know one another. One of the girls from District 1, I can tell by the jewels on her gown, glares at me. She turns back to the other girl from her District. They point at me and she mimes a finger sliding across her throat. I shiver involuntarily before reminding myself to look strong. I turn to look at the other tributes. The non-Careers like me.

I see a strong-looking, red-haired boy from District 5 talking to his mentor. The older girl from District 10 gives me a weird feeling. She looks sly and I make a note of her in my mind. I bite my lip when I see the young boy from District 7 I remember seeing in the reaping recaps. With his fair brown hair and slender arms, he looks just like Hayden. His eyes still have an innocent look to them and I want nothing more than to send him back to his District. I know he is destined to die in these Games.

"Haymitch! Over here!"

I spin around, feeling my tool belt smack me in the side. William is waving me over. He, along with Leila and Maysilee, is standing next to our chariot. The two girls have found sugar cubes somewhere and are feeding our horses.

William waves at again and I, realizing I have no other choice and that the parade must be starting soon, head over to stand with them. I'm careful to keep my eyes on their faces or the floor. Anywhere but their clothes.

Leila looks extremely uncomfortable but manages to give me a small smile. "We were wondering when you'd show up." She points at mine and then William's. "You two actually look good in our costume. Maysilee and I just look ridiculous."

Of course, now that she has mentioned the outfits, my eyes slid over to the coal miners' outfits that I've been avoiding looking at these past few hours. I gasp once I catch a good look.

I marvel at the details; they are so accurate. The exact shade of black, the silver buttons, the hats with yellow headlights.

_Bam_. I feel the air vanish from my lungs. I'm reminded of my dad, never to be seen again, all because of this exact uniform. I turn around so the others can't see my face. I squeeze my eyes shut and clench my fists, trying to escape the images in my mind.

"Haymitch," someone says from behind me. "Haymitch, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I say, through gritted teeth.

There's a slight taste of blood in my mouth where I've bitten down on the inside of my cheek. I take a few deep breaths, now is not the time to go to pieces. Somebody says my name again.

I turn around to see the three of them staring at me. William seems concerned while Maysilee looks confused. Leila gives me a sympathetic look. She obviously knows how I feel. That would explain why she looks so uncomfortable as well. Only for me, I guess it's worse.

William steps forwards. "Haymitch, are you okay?"

"Yes," I say, trying to regain some of my toughness. "I'm fine."

He must understand by my tone that I don't want to talk because he drops back. Maysilee frowns at me like she's trying to figure something out. She looks between me and Leila and a look of realization crosses her face. I spot Evangeline and 3 other stylists and quickly direct everyone's attention to them before Maysilee can say anything.

"The parade is starting soon," Evangeline says when she reaches me. "Remember, smile and wave. Get them to like you. You want to make yourself memorable." Around me, my District partners are getting the same talk.

I frown, smiling and waving at a crowd of bloodthirsty people has never been something I wanted to do. But I know I don't really have a choice. "Okay, I'll do my best."

Music starts to play and I watch as the District 1 chariot, with their tributes covered in jewels, starts to make its way through the crowd.

Our stylists herd the four of us onto our chariot. Leila and Maysilee stand just in front of me and William. Suddenly, a rain of black rains down on me. I start and glace to my side. Evangeline, along with the other 3 stylists, have just doused us with black powder. Maysilee is trying to wipe it off her face while William tries to get some out of his mouth. Seeing as nobody is going to talk, I do.

"What was that for?" I say angrily.

Evangeline gives me an apologetic look. "It's black powder to represent coal. Now you guys will look like real coal miners!"

The four of us collectively groan. But before I can say anything back, our chariot starts to move out the door and towards the crowd.

Our stylists call after us. "Don't forget to smile!"

The crowd catches sight of us. There are a few halfhearted cheers but they aren't fooling us. I catch sight of myself on a screen and immediately do a double-take. We look like miners that have been bathing in coal, not tributes trying to catch the attention of the already bored audience.

Still, we do our best. All of us, although I do it grudgingly, smile and wave. But compared to the other tributes, our attempt at a costume is laughable. Forgettable.

When the parade is finally over, our stylists are not too happy with us. Venisha, who I hoped I wouldn't need to see today, has somehow started criticizing us.

"Were you guys even trying? That was horrible! How will we ever be able to get you guys sponsors now?"

We all exchange looks. William tries to explain but Venisha cuts him off with a huff. She leaves to find Reynald, apparently _needing _to tell him what a disaster we were.

"This is so unfair!" Maysilee says, taking off her hat.

"I know. How do they expect us to make an impression wearing_ these_?" William gestures at his outfit.

"Oh, we made an impression all right?" I say darkly. "A bad one."

Maysilee rolls her eyes at me but I know she agrees. After all, I'm right. I bet no one in the Capitol even remembers our names.

Leila starts to tear up. "How are we going to get sponsors now?"

William puts an arm around the younger girl while Maysilee hugs her. "Don't worry," she says, "we'll figure something out."

As we head for the elevators I can't help but wonder. _How am I supposed to win now?_

* * *

**Here is chapter 6! I'm so sorry that it takes so long for me to update. The next chapter will have a shorter wait because it's three side character povs. Depending on the length, they will either be published as three separate chapters or one large one. I have a poll of my profile so you can vote on which povs you would like to see.****I really love writing this story and I want to see how many people are actually reading them. So if you're reading this, I would really appreciate it if you could review this chapter so I'll know that you've been reading. Or, if you'd like, you can PM me. Either way, please let me know what you think of this story. Thanks for reading! **


	7. Hayden Abernathy

Hayden Abernathy

"Mom," I say, tugging at her arm. "Come on, we have to watch the Tribute Parade now."

She looks over at me with a now all too familiar blank look in her eyes. I bite my lip. Ever since Haymitch got reaped, she has been like an empty shell. Going through the motions of life but not really doing anything. In only the past few days, I've lost count of how many times she's slipped away. I've had to make my own food and make myself go to school now. It's like how it was when dad died. Only now Haymitch isn't here to help me.

"Mom!"

She doesn't answer and takes to looking at the window instead. I can see all the people heading for the square. I look around her room and discover that it hasn't changed a bit. Nothing has been moved. She isn't doing anything in here.

For some reason, I'm forcibly reminded of when Dad died. For weeks, Mom stayed in her room and refused to do anything. I was only nine, still a child, so I couldn't help with anything. Haymitch became head of the family almost overnight. He found ways to keep us safe: asking Dad's old friends to give us leftovers, selling things that could be discarded, learning to make basic meals like soup, forcing Mom and me to eat when she wouldn't, comforting me when I was sad.

However, I knew that although he tried to be strong, there was a part of him that was hurting. I saw the way he would freeze when people brought up Dad in public even years later. I would notice when he would stare off at the dining table like Mom did. I saw when he would run off to his room and lock himself inside. I tried to ask him what he did in there but he would just say that he needed a minute and that he was fine. Even now, I'm sure he's better, we all are, but there are things that can't be healed. I still don't know exactly what he did all locked up there.

Although I've always been compared to my mom and Haymitch to my dad, the way Haymitch and Mom deal with things is very similar.

"Mom," I say, pulling her to her feet. Her eyes focus slightly on me and I take my chance. "Mom?"

"Yes?" Her voice is cracked but I'm just glad she responded at all.

"We have to watch the Tribute Parade." She frowns and I grab her hand, tugging her along. "We've got to get to the square."

"I don't want to see him there."

I sigh. "We have to, or else the Peacekeepers will come to punish us. And why don't you want to see Haymitch? I do."

As we walk down the stairs she looks at me, her eyes focusing on my face. "I don't want to see him dressed up like _that_."

I frown as the warm air from outside hits me full-on in the face. I'm glad there's no school today, it's way too humid to learn anything.

"Why do you mean-" I break off with a soft gasp of realization. Of course. How did I never realize that as well? I'm tempted to turn around and run back home, where we won't have to see Haymitch dressed up as a coal miner. They have always looked alike and for Mom, seeing like that would just make her remember the husband she has lost. For me, I'll see my brother and be forced to wonder if he will meet the same fate as my dad.

But we can't go back now. The Peacekeepers are watching us closely. It's probably because I've stopped dead in the middle of the road and Mom is just barely moving on her own. One of them, Roman, who I remember as one of the nice ones, comes up to us.

"Move along now," he says, giving me an odd look. "You wouldn't want to miss the parade."

Mom, perhaps seeing that my feet have dug into the ground, finally gets her mother instincts back and walks me to the square. I'm too busy thinking about the odd look on Roman's face. He was always one of the kinder Peacekeepers so I know he isn't angry. He almost looks like he's pitying us.

Sure enough, throughout the whole walk to the square, people give us looks of pity and sorrow. I can't stand it. They're acting like Haymitch is already dead!

By the time we reach the square, everyone let us up to the front, I'm seething with anger. Mom, being around many people seems to have jolted her into reality, whispers into my ear.

"What's wrong?"

"Everyone is being so dumb," I hiss, looking grumpily at the ground. "They are being so nice! It's like they think he's going to die."

I can feel her deflate beside me. I bet even she doesn't think he'll win.

"They're just trying to feel better, Hayden. Wouldn't you do that too if you were them?"

I sigh. "I guess."

"Excuse me?"

I spin around and come face to face with two older girls with blonde hair. I frown, they look awfully familiar.

"Excuse me," one of the girls says in a cracked voice, not unlike my Mom's. The Capitol anthem plays on the large screen. Mom turns towards it but I wait for the girls to continue.

The other girl speaks when the first suddenly looks down, eyes filling with tears. "Are you Haymitch's brother?"

"Yes...-Oh!" I finally recognize the girls. The first is the twin of Maysilee, one of the female tributes, and the other is the apothecary's daughter. I remember them crying at the reaping like I was.

Maysilee's twin gives me a watery half-smile. It's like she can't produce a real one. "I'm Maylene."

"Hayden." I shake her hand and her friend introduces herself as Iris.

There's an awkward silence between us as we see District One's chariot roll out. The three of us have suddenly realized the same thing. In order for me to get my brother back, Maysilee will have to die. They must be thinking the same thing. Without warning, tears fill my eyes. I haven't wanted to believe it, but Haymitch could die. And I would be left all alone.

Both Maylene and Iris give me a hug. There is always a bond that happens between members of the tributes.

I frown as I see the Career district's costumes. District 1 is covered in shining jewels while District 2 is covered in what I think may be actual gold. One of those tribute's costumes alone could a family in the Seam alive for a year. I try not to notice the tributes specifically, just the outfits. Because in a few weeks, Haymitch could be killing them, or they could kill him.

District 3 has some sort of shimmering headpiece that I think is supposed to look interesting in some way.

District 4 is covered in pearls and shimmering blue sparkles.

My stomach clenches when I notice a small boy from District 7. He must be my age and looks almost just like me. I wonder if Haymitch has seen him. I also can't help but wonder where he will place in the Games.

District 11's tributes, covered in strands of golden wheat, have just been rolled away when I hear a shriek from in front of me. My mom stumbles back and a man has to catch her before she falls. She sinks to the ground in horror. I look up and almost fall to the ground myself.

Haymitch, along with the three other tributes, is dressed in exact replicas of the coal miner's outfit in District 12. If they weren't so young, I would guess that they were miners on their way to work.

Black coal covers them completely and it takes me a while to figure out which one is my brother. His face has a strained smile and I can tell right away that he hates his costume even more than me and Mom do. He looks so much like my dad, I'm tempted to reach through the screen and make sure that that really is Haymitch. It's almost as though my dad is back.

Mom has started to sob and people move to give us space on the floor. I crouch down next to her and give her a hug. My own tears start to flow as well and I cling onto her.

Even as the President speaks, I can't help but shake with sadness and fear. Only when the screen cuts to black and the Peacekeepers start herding people home do we finally move.

I refuse to get up and Mom puts her arm around me. Together we make the walk back to our house. We both move, ghost-like, down the street. I can't get that image of Haymitch out of my head. I cross my fingers, hoping that Haymitch won't die like Dad did.

There is only one thing I'm truly realizing. Seeing this year's tributes dressed as coal miners seems to have jolted Mom at least halfway out of her phase. She knows that we can't spend our time mourning Haymitch and what could happen to him. Life in the Seam is tough and, in a way, we know how to put our feelings on the back burner and focus on survival. Even though she may not be fully back to normal, at least she will be acting like my mom again.

When we get back to our house, I go straight to Haymitch's room and curl up on his bed. I can't help but wonder if I'm ever truly going to see my big brother again.

* * *

**Here's Hayden's pov. I hope you liked him and his character. This chapter is meant to show the effect that a loved one being reaped has on their family. I was going to do two more povs but I decided to wait and sprinkle them throughout the chapters. I'm pretty happy with myself for only making you guys wait for two weeks for this chapter. The next one will be a training pov where you will get to see the other tributes in more detail and see if any possible alliances are going to be formed. Hope everyone is having a great day!**


	8. Learn Something New

**Chapter 8: ****Learn Something New**

Maysilee Donner

When I wake up, I fight the strong urge to groan and dive back into the covers. Today is the first day of training. Where I'll have to meet all 44 of the other tributes in the flesh.

Still, I'm excited at the prospect of learning some more survival skills. I'm hopeless with weapons but maybe I could learn how to at least handle one. William would probably make me try one of them. I smile despite myself when I think of him.

It's dumb really. Because only one of us, if either of us have the luck, will win the Games, and right now, the odds aren't really in my favour. There's no point in still crushing on him when, in a couple of weeks, we both could very well be dead. But, of course, I can't help myself. If I don't win, I want him to. If not him, then Leila, even though her victory is even less likely than mine. Those two for sure will be my allies in this game.

As I convince myself to get out of bed, I briefly wonder if Haymitch will try to join our somehow predetermined alliance. He seems to want nothing to do with us. I don't exactly like him but for some strange reason, I trust him. Although he's arrogant and sarcastic, he hardly seems the type who would kill me in my sleep. I think.

I frown slightly, remembering how odd he looked after he saw our costumes. He had frozen and looked alarmingly pale. It took me a while to realize that he must have been shocked at seeing us dressed as coal miners. Before he had arrived, Leila was complaining about hers and refused to look at us for the longest time.

"Maysilee!" Venisha's voice comes from outside my room, followed by a series of loud knocks. "Get to breakfast now! Training starts in half an hour and we can't afford to be late."

"Coming," I yell back before slowly getting out of bed. Venisha seems addicted to having a tight schedule. I can't really blame her though. If I was her I'd want us to make a good impression too.

I spot my training clothes hanging in the wardrobe and pull them out. My training clothes are firm black pants and a fitted red shirt. The back of the shirt has a grey circle with 'D12' written inside of it.

By the time I'm ready, everyone is already at the breakfast table. Venisha's talking to Reynald, who is grudgingly maintaining a conversation. William is getting Leila to try all sorts of the delicious looking breakfast foods. He, like me, must have realized that we should really put on some weight if we want to have a chance in the arena. Leila especially, who must weigh only half of what little I do, needs to fill up on food.

"Maysilee," Venisha says when she sees me. "Please do try and be more punctual. You could have had us all be late to training!"

"Sorry," I mumble as Haymitch smirks into his pancakes. He's sitting as far away as he can from everyone else. I send him a glare and he raises his eyebrows at me as though wondering why I'm late. It's not my fault I couldn't sleep until the sun had already started to rise!

"Oh well," Venisha sighs as though I've done something majorly disappointing. "Come on and eat."

I take a seat next to William who gives me a cheerful hello and nods towards all the food. I can't help but notice the dark circles forming under his eyes. Not wanting to ask him in front of everyone, I turn to the food and smile at all the variety. I eagerly reach for the sugared rolls that I loved yesterday and dunk it into some hot chocolate. Leila's already doing the same and sighs of happiness escape both of our mouths.

Reynald starts to discuss what we should do at training.

"Try and learn something new," he says. I notice that he sounds rather sullen and snappish. He must not have had a drink yet.

"You two," he points at me and Leila. She squirms and seems to try and hide behind William. "Try your hand at some weapons. Find something that you can handle." He turns to the boys. "Try and get some survival skills training. Don't underestimate how useful they can be."

We all nod as he warns us not to show off too much. He says to save anything impressive for our individual training sessions. Leila gives me a look and I'm sure she's realizing that the two of us don't exactly have anything impressive to show during our training sessions. I guess we will have to find something we are good at.

"Don't ignore the survival skills," Reynald sighs. "That's how the two from last year went. One with no water and the other walked right into a snare."

"Make sure you guys make some allies." Venisha says chirpily, the opposite of Reynald. "Those always seem to be useful."

"How can we trust them?" Haymitch asks. I notice that he doesn't seem as hostile as he usually does. Maybe he's nervous for training as well.

I suddenly remember about the uncle who I never even knew existed, dead because of an ally who turned on him. "Wouldn't it be better to stick with our own district?" I ask. "We don't know who we can trust."

"Exactly what I've been trying to say." Haymitch says, having the air of someone superior. I roll my eyes and turn away from him. Nervous or not, and even though he seems almost like us at times—scared for the Games and just trying to figure out what to do—I still don't like him.

"It isn't about trust," Reynald says. "It's about staying alive." He laughs.

"But how can we stay alive without trusting them?" William asks, frowning at our not-so-helpful mentor.

"Easy," he replies, "you trust them enough not to kill you in your sleep. Find someone who needs an ally, but can still help you." He gives Leila a look. "You especially have got to make yourself useful. You don't want to get killed off right at the start of the Games.

My face morphs into one of shock. I can't believe that Reynald would have said something like that. Leila's face is downcast. "Why can't we just stick together?"

"Oh, you can. But allying with the other districts as well is more useful. More sponsors, more talents." Reynald turns to ask an Avox for a glass of wine. William frowns and Haymitch glowers at him angrily, but they both stay silent.

"But, still," I say, "nothing will stop people we don't know from betraying us."

Reynald just gives me a look as he uncorks his bottle. Venisha looks up at a clock. "We should get going."

We all stand to leave and Reynald, chugging his bottle, looks at me.

"Find something you're good at. Something that makes you an important ally. That's the best way not to get a knife in the back while you sleep."

William and I exchange a glance.

Venisha herds us into the grand elevator, tutting something about how we can't afford to be the last ones at training seeing as everyone already thinks we're a joke.

Sensing an opportunity to talk to William, I head over to one corner of the elevator, where William is leaning against the glass walls, looking surprisingly downcast.

"William," I say quietly. "Are you okay?"

He starts at my voice and looks over at me. I notice that in the light, the dark rings under his eyes are even more prominent. Venisha is talking to Leila and Haymitch is sullenly looking at his shoes so I decide that no one is listening to us.

"Your eyes have dark circles under them," I say, remembering what Iris told me that meant. "Have you been getting enough sleep?"

He laughs but there's no amusement behind it. "Have any of us been getting sleep? I'm fine, Maysilee, don't you go on worrying about me. I just had some nightmares."

I sigh and lean against his shoulder. "Me too."

He gives me a long hug as we reach the Training Center. Leila giggles at us and I blush, pulling away from William who turns slightly red as well. Haymitch smirks at us but I can't help but notice a shadow over his face. I remember the girl who I thought was his girlfriend. He must miss her.

William, despite Leila's continued girlish giggles, tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear as Venisha starts telling us to go learn something new. She reminds us to make allies and find something that we are good at.

Venisha leads us into the Training Room. The room looks packed to me until I realize that a few districts haven't even arrived yet. Then it feels overwhelming. I feel some colour drain from my cheeks as the realization that nearly all these kids will be dead soon hits me. William glances over at me and squeezes my hand. Leila looks pale as well.

With a final wave, Venisha leaves us in the company of some of our fellow tributes and the instructor. I notice the District 1 careers smirking at us. A few of the outer district's tributes look at us curiously. The sibling set from District 9 smile at us and the girl waves shyly. Leila and I wave back as the other districts arrive.

"Maysilee," Leila nudges me. She really does look pale. "What am I going to do? I won't be good at anything here."

Her sad face threatens to break my heart. "Don't worry," I say as I squeeze her hand, "we'll find something for the both of us. I promise."

The instructor, who introduce himself as Devian, starts to explain the different stations to us. I spot an obstacle course station that looks like something I could do. William is eyeing the physical combat station while Leila just glances around, clearly overwhelmed. Haymitch, who is standing a few feet away from us, seems to be looking at the knife throwing station with interest, something other than arrogance for once, sparkling in his eyes.

I pay extra attention as Devian explains the survival stations and warns us not to skip them. Good thing I never planned to do that. I nudge Wiliam so he gets the message and he nods at me, holding up one finger. I nod, understanding that he thinks we should do survival stuff first and then weapons. I turn to Leila and whisper our plan. She nods slowly and points at Haymitch. I shrug, I don't think that he will be joining us.

It turns out that I'm right. The second Devian lets us wander to whichever station we want, Haymitch takes off without even a second glance at us.

I frown. "He didn't even check to see if we want to ally with him."

William sighs. "Do we even trust him?"

I turn to him in surprise. Out of everyone here, William must be the most trusting. "What do you mean?"

He shrugs. "I don't know. He doesn't really like us too much and seems to be more of an independent person than anything else. I'm not usually so suspicious." He runs a hand through his blond hair. "I guess the Games are getting to me." I give him a hug and he smiles softly.

Leila bites her lip. "He isn't that bad, I guess. Some bad things have happened to him."

William nods and I know that we are thinking of his dad.

I put a hand on her shoulder. "Bad things have happened to us all. Come on, let's learn something that could help us."

We look around for a station that isn't too crowded. It seems that, against Devian's advice, everyone has headed to the weapon stations. Haymitch, who seems to have listened to Reynald, has headed for the snares station so we decide to tackle that one after lunch. I didn't understand why snares were on the defense side of the room, as opposed to the offence side where all the weapons were. William had to explain that technically snares were more defensive than spears or swords. Besides, the offense side already has so many stations.

Leila spots the District 9 siblings at the plant recognition center. I feel bad for the two of them, I could never imagine being in the Games with Maylene, knowing that one of us would have to die for the other to go home. That thought alone would have destroyed me. Besides, the two don't seem like people who would try and kill us in our sleep, so we head over to them.

"Hi," William says when we reach them, "my name is William." He turns to me and I introduce myself as well.

The boy, who looks quite a bit older than us, shakes his hand. "I'm Miller and this is my sister, Mazie." Mazie smiles shyly.

"I'm Leila," Leila says to Mazie. "I'm 12. How old are you?"

"14," Mazie says. "Miller is 17."

Leila looks sad. "I'm sorry you guys are in together. That must be hard."

Mazie looks down. "It is. But we are going to protect each other no matter what."

Me and William exchange a glance. They seen so sad and in that moment, the Games are even more unfair than before. I feel so bad for their parents, who could lose both of their kids. Still, even while going through something I can't even imagine, they seem pretty nice.

The woman at our station starts showing us many different plants and it quickly becomes clear that Leila, who was the top of her class back in 12, has an incredible memory. She's the first one to pass the quiz the woman sets for us and even memorizes the different types of leaves and which ones could be used for different kinds of healing. Iris would have loved to teach her.

"Good job, Leila," I beam. "I knew you could find something you were good at!"

William gives her a hug. "See, you're a perfectly valuable ally. Don't listen to anything Reynald says."

She smiles, the first perfectly pure smile I've seen on her face since we got here. I can't help but wonder if there will be something that I can do here.

When we've all managed to pass the quiz, the five of us stick together and go around to the different stations.

There is an obstacle course station meant to test our speed and agility. I see the two 12-year-olds I remember from the reaping dashing through the course. The boy isn't too bad but the girl keeps toppling over. I hear a laugh from a nearby tribute and turn to see one of the boys from District 5 smirking as the boy ends up falling on top of the girl, who is already on the ground. They both look horribly embarrassed.

I give the District 5 boy a glare. Honestly, he could try and be more sympathetic. William and Miller reach forward to help the two to their feet. The girl blushes a deep scarlet and the boy mumbles his thanks before they both scamper away. I guess the sight of five kids—even though Leila is their age—must be intimidating.

It turns out that I'm actually really good at the obstacle course. I have practice from climbing trees at home and running around with Maylene and Iris. The sharp turns and high jumps are quite easy for me. I feel like I'm flying. For the first time since I got reaped, I forget for a second where I am. I let the sense of soaring through the air ground me.

After William and I have raced twice, with me beating him both times, he wraps me in a hug. His touch brings a shiver up my spine and I marvel at the fact that we really have gotten so much closer in just a few days. In other circumstances, I would have been thrilled at being able to hug him. Now, we both know there will be a consequence to this. But right now, I don't want to think about it.

"You were great," he whispers in my ear. "That was amazing."

"Thanks," I whisper back. He keeps me in his arms until I hear Miller pointedly cough from behind us. Leila's giggles are quick to follow. I feel my cheeks heat up as we step away from each other.

"Come on," Mazie says although I can tell she's trying hard not to laugh along with Leila. "Let's keep practicing."

The five of us are able to learn how to make hammocks before it's time for lunch. The other two girls get a hang of it right away while it takes me, William, and Miller a little longer.

During lunch, we invite Miller and Mazie to have lunch with us. We decide to sit together at a table far from the 12 Careers, who are all sitting at the main table. I spot Haymitch sitting in the corner of the room. Two young boys sit near him although they aren't exactly talking to him. It's more like the three just ended up at the table in the corner.

The lunch that we get served is a lot like the lunch we got while on the train. In other words, super fancy. William spots the bread that we both loved so much on the train and hands me a slice. It tastes just as good as it did before. I watch as Leila talks with Mazie and seriously consider taking the two as allies. They don't seem to be with the other two in the district and out of everyone here, I'd rather ally with them than anyone else. I tell William my thoughts and he agrees but tells me that we should probably discuss it with Reynald later.

When lunch is almost over, someone picks up their plate and heads to the Careers table.

Leila nudges me. "What's happening?"

I shrug. "No idea."

I recognize the girl from the reaping but can't quite place her as her long hair covers the back of her shirt. She talks with Shimmer and another one of the girls for a minute. The Careers all seem quite amused. The girl seems to ask a question. Shimmer and the other girl seem to discuss it with their group. Then they all laugh and shake their head.

William leans over. "I think she tried to get into an alliance with them."

I quickly realize that he's right. The girl takes the rejection quite well. She simply shrugs, like she wouldn't have cared either way, and turns away. It takes a soft gasp from Leila for me to realize that she's heading towards us.

"Hey," the girl comes over to our table. She seems much older than all of us, even Miller. Leila scoots over, obviously intimidated by the girl. She smiles at Leila. "Can I sit here? Just until lunch is over."

I want to say no, mainly because she just tried to ally with the Careers but also because there is something about her that makes me not want to trust her. But William, ever the polite one, says yes.

"Great," she grins and sits down. As she sweeps her long hair over her shoulder, I catch sight of the number 10. I suddenly remember her as the confident girl who had held her head up high at her reaping. I can't help but admire her confidence. I mean, the Careers just rejected her and she's acting like she couldn't care less.

After lunch is over, the girl, who hadn't introduce herself to us, walks away.

Miller frowns after her. "There's something odd about her."

William shrugs. "She wasn't hat bad. Most people would want try to get in with the Careers anyway. She just actually tried it."

Leila looks after her. "She seems a little scary. But her smile is a nice one so I don't really know what to make of her." I agree.

"Well, by the looks of her attitude, we probably won't have to talk to her again. So we shouldn't worry too much about her."

The five of us head over to the weapons side of the room. Mazie wants to try the snare station. Haymitch is at the knife station so the boys agree and we make a couple of snares. Like with the hammocks, only Mazie and Leila enjoy this station. We struggle through it before telling the two of them that they are better of with the hammocks, snares, and in Leila's case, plant recognition while we try the weapons. Of course, I have to find a weapon first.

William has the most success at the wrestling and weights station. He's strong and can throw the weights even farther than most of the Careers could. If he really wanted to, I'd guess that he could even toss me across the room too. The instructors there let William wrestle with them for practice. I give him a hug when he wins.

"That was great," I grin. "If you ended up fighting a Career, you'd definitely win."

He smiles and waves the praise away. Miller backs me up, saying that William must be really good to have beaten the instructors so easily.

"So, now that me, Leila, and Mazie have found something we're good at, what do you two want to do?"

I shrug and Miller says that he thinks he'd be good with a knife. William says we can go there after Haymitch leaves.

"Isn't he in your district," Miller asks. "Why aren't you with him?"

I shrug. "He doesn't like us for some reason."

Miller and Mazie look confused but brush it off. Leila eagerly points out the dart station and tells me to try it.

"Why," I ask, laughing. I didn't think I'd be good at darts.

She shrugs. "It looks like something you could do. You did well on the obstacle course and they both need that same kind of precision."

"Wouldn't archery be better then?" But Shimmer and the other District 1s are there so we all head over to the dart station, which is empty.

Leila's random intuition turns out to be right. I have great aim with the darts even though I've never touched one before. Unlike the obstacle course, where I've had practice, this seems to be a random skill that I've had my whole life without realizing it.

William and Leila stay with me while Mazie and Miller decide to try out the knife station. For the next hour, I practice my aim until it's nearly perfect.

As we leave the training room for today, I smile. Maybe we have a chance in these games after all.

* * *

**This chapter took a month to come out because I was busy with a competition on here that I'm in and I kept making changes to this. I originally was going to include their dinner but nothing really happened so I skipped it. I always wonder just how many people are reading this story because I get quite a bit of views but hardly any reviews. Also, sorry if there are any slight mistakes in grammar or something, it just happens sometimes. As I'm writing this, I always have to remind myself not to forget certain details that I want to be important later on and honestly, I'm not too sure if I'm doing a good job with that. Anyways, hope you enjoyed. I would love to hear your thoughts.**

**Who do you think Maysilee will ally with. What about Haymitch?**

**Who is your favourite character in this fanfic and is there a certain tribute that you would like to see more of?**


	9. Control Your Temper

**Chapter 9: Control Your Temper**

Haymitch Abernathy

All through breakfast, I'm trying to fight through waves of sleepiness and nervousness. Maysilee and William are talking quietly and I wonder when they got so close. Venisha is trying to talk with Leila, who seems just as on edge as I am. Eventually she gives up and starts talking to Reynald, who immediately gives her such a cross look that she falls silent, rolling her eyes. I watch as he moodily picks at a jam-filled croissant, mutilating it to pieces. He must be having a hangover of some sorts.

I sip some coffee slowly because there is no way that I'll be able to stay awake on my own. I hardly got any sleep last night. Bright red jam spills over onto Reynald's plate from his croissant and it gives me a weird feeling. It takes a few seconds before I realize that it looks a lot like blood. Then, I'm angry with myself. _Seriously? It looks like blood. Has the Games made me that weak? _Shaking my head, I grab one of those croissants and bring it up to my mouth. The jam is strawberry-flavoured and actually doesn't taste that bad.

Reynald is watching me but since I can't figure out what he wants, I just keep my eyes on my plate. I reach for one of the breakfast rolls that everyone loved when we first arrived at the Capitol. Then I try a few pancakes. I'm fuller than I've ever been but I don't want to stop eating. I'll need the strength. A part of me knows that I'm savouring all this food because Hayden would go wild if he could try everything here. Even Serena, who has a sweet tooth, would be ecstatic. I can't remember the last time I had any sort of candy back in 12. Maybe when Hayden turned 10.

The chocolate from the roll has gotten all over my fingers and I bring my hand to my mouth, trying to discreetly lick it off. I can't even think of wasting even a small mouthful. My tongue hits something cold and I flinch when I see Serena's gold ring shining on my fourth finger. The family heirloom that she asked me to take as my token. What I wouldn't give to just kiss her one more time. Even just to see her face.

I hear a laugh from the other side of the table and turn to see Maysilee and William laughing and smiling together. Something inside me twists as I see their happy faces. _Don't they know where we are. This is the Hunger Games. Becoming close with someone now is just asking for your heart to be broken! _Even though I know this, it doesn't make seeing them so happy any easier for me. In that moment, I miss Serena, Hayden, and my mom so much, I almost feel like I'm choking on it—desperate to hear their voices one more time.

Some part of my thoughts must show on my face as both Reynald and William look at me. William gives me a sympathetic before Maysilee leans in to whisper something to him and he turns back towards her. Reynald keeps his eyes on me and I find myself wringing my hands under his sharp gaze.

Just then, Venisha brings up training.

"So, Reynald and I never got to hear about what you four did yesterday."

_Yeah, _I think. _Probably because Reynald didn't bother to show up to dinner and you don't know anything about the Games._

I remember when Venisha told us that we had to share rooms when we got to the Capitol. She figured out later that we got our own rooms, just cut in half. She sounded so disappointed when she told us, like we really cared about our room size while we were headed to our death. Besides, this cut-in-half room is larger than the entire first floor of my house. The full room would definitely be able to fit my whole house in it. It's just like the Capitol to give the tributes such luxury. I wonder for a brief moment what the house of a normal Capitol citizen looks like.

"It was good," Maysilee says. "We visited a lot of the stations."

"Which ones?" Reynald asks. "Did you meet anyone from the other districts?"

As the three of them tell Reynald about all the stations they went to and the couple of other tributes they talked to, I find that I don't really want to talk about my first day of training at all. I went to stations that I thought would be the most helpful: snares, knife throwing, and physical combat. The knife throwing was my favourite and it was actually pretty easy. I had planned on doing the plant recognition and fire-starting stations as well but I decided to save them for today, seeing as I have enough practice with the both of them from living in the Seam.

I didn't end of talking to any of the other tributes. I've never had many friends in school either. My mom says it's because I look so annoyed all the time but I guess I just prefer to be alone. Something about being around a lot of people unnerves me. Besides, I'm not going to make the same mistake as the other three are making. Getting close to the other tributes won't do anything but make this whole thing even harder. I can't risk the possibility of having to watch them die.

Reynad turns to question me but at that moment, Venisha looks up at the clock and trills that we should go before we are late. She seems obsessed with being on time. I wonder briefly whether that is common among all escorts or if that's just a part of her.

We all head to the elevators. Maysilee and William again take to the corner and Leila, surprisingly, comes up to me.

"Hi," I mumble awkwardly, not really knowing what she wants.

She frowns at me. "Why don't you want to ally with us?" she asks abruptly, her suddenly mature sounding voice making her sound much older that she really is. "Or anyone really?"

Now it's my turn to frown. How am I supposed to explain to this little girl that I don't want allies? That they would just die eventually. Or that I would.

"It's nothing personal," I say, channeling my usual snarky exterior. "I just don't want allies."

Maysilee beckons her over and she heads back to them. I sigh, realizing I should probably make some sort of effort to meet someone or else Reynald is going to be quite angry with me.

When we reach the training center, Devian gives us the same speech about not fighting with other tributes. After he finishes talking, I head over to the fire starting station.

The trainer hands me a fire starting kit that I've seen in many past Games. They are usually in bags at the Cornucopia but are occasionally given to tributes as sponsor gifts. I start a fire easily with that and take some time to look around again. The Careers are, once again, with the deadliest weapons while most of the outlying districts are either at the easier weapons or at survival stations like me. Yesterday, nearly everyone went to the weapons so I guess their mentors reminded them that the survival skills are much more important.

I start up a fire with flint and steel next. It's another common fire starter I see given to tributes in the Games, although it's more rare. I can't figure out why, as it seems like it would be a cheaper alternative to having an entire fire starting kit. It's a little harder but only takes me about ten minutes to do successfully. The trainer remarks that I'm doing quite well. However, I notice that the two other tributes at this station are having some trouble. They are working together and both seem quite young. I shift a little to catch a glimpse of their faces. I bite down on my lip hard when I realize that one of them is the District 7 boy who reminds me so much of my little brother. The other is a scrawny boy with chocolate dark skin.

"You should try it again with more force." I say, moving to sit next to them. Something about the two young boys makes me want to help them.

The District 7 boy looks up and I notice that, while he looks like Hayden, his eyes are a different colour. A soft hazel, looking at me curiously. The other boy leans in and whispers something to him. Together, they try using the flint and steel again, beaming proudly when a fire flares up in front of them.

"Thank you," the other boy says, meeting my gaze.

"Your welcome," I say. My mind screams at me to walk away. That this much talking is enough. But something insides me yearns to talk to them. To learn more about their lives. "What are your names?"

"I'm Rowan," the boy says. "I'm from District 11."

"My name is Jack," says the District 7 boy. "District 7. What's your name?"

"Haymitch," I say. "I'm from District 12."

"Thanks again for helping us. You didn't have to," Jack says. "No one else would have. Because we are so young. Not even our own districts' cared to help us."

I feel a twinge of sadness. "Don't worry, I'm not with my district either." Seeing their hopeful looks, I quickly add, "I'm hoping to do this solo." They look disappointed but seem to understand. A sudden thought hits me. "How old are you two anyway?"

"I'm twelve," Rowan says. "Jack is thirteen."

The three of us end up talking until lunch. I learn more about Districts 7 and 11 and I tell them about living in 12. It turns out that the Peacekeepers in those two districts are just as violent as the ones in 12. I learn how Rowan has two younger brothers and an older sister while Jack is an only child who lives with his aunt, uncle, and younger cousins. They tell me how they hard it is to get food and I tell them about the Seam and how someone drops dead of starvation every week. I can't help but feel bad, knowing that the lives of these two are much worse than mine.

I was going to sit with them at lunch but i'm being painfully aware that I'm getting way too attached to these two tributes. I care for them and I worry for them. Hayden and Serena made me promise to come home and for that, I need to be on my own. I tell the two that I'm going to eat by myself and, although they look disappointed again, they don't push it and leave me be.

During lunch, which is a wide assortment of sandwiches and soup, I watch Maysilee, William, and Leila talking with three other tributes. I think about Leila asking me why I didn't want allies and realize that those three certainly don't share the same views as me. Or, at least, they aren't as scared of watching their new friends die right in front of them. I recognize two of the tributes as the siblings from 9 but I can't tell who the other one is. It's a tall, probably 18 years old, girl with long blonde hair flowing down her back but the sight doesn't ring any bells. I guess I'll just figure out who it is during dinner then.

After lunch, I head to the plant recognition station. I desperately wish there was a station for tactics and planning, since those are two of my mental strong suits. I may not be the top of my class in school but I am good at making plans. However, the closest thing to tactics here is snares and I've already done that. I remind myself to try the station again tomorrow.

I decide to spend the rest of today at this station because I've seen far too many tributes from 12 drop dead because they didn't realize that an edible plant was hanging on a tree right above them. I know from watching previous Games that knives are the most common weapon at the Cornucopia so I really only have to perfect that. What I should really know are survival skills.

It turns out that I enjoy this station fairly well. There is a little computerized game set up for us tributes to eliminate all poisonous plants from the screen and I get a perfect score on my third try. Mainly because I have no idea how computers work but also because there were some plants there that are obviously not natural ones. I know most of the edible roots as that's one thing my dad taught me, but most of the berries look so alike that I have to learn to distinguish them not only by colour and size but also other things like smell and how many come in one bunch.

I've gone into a half zoned-out state, looking at plant after plant, when a loud shouts makes me tense and spin around.

For the past few hours, I've done my best to avoid looking at the Careers, or anyone else for that matter. Except for Jack and Rowan, I don't want to talk to anyone here. Especially not when they could die so soon. Seeing the Careers, when they are so much larger and stronger than the rest of us, is only a source of anxiety for me. But now, as they are being so loud, it is impossible for me to ignore them.

The huge group of 12 Careers, who must already be allies, have cornered two young tributes. My stomach drops to my toes when I realize that they are no other than Jack and Rowan. _What did they do to upset the Careers?_ They are both mumbling something that from here, I can't hear. They sound so scared.

"You'll have to be louder than that," one of the threatening-seeming girls from District 1 steps up, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Or are you so dumb you can't even speak?"

The Careers all laugh and one even says, "Nice one, Shimmer."

My blood seems to boil and I can feel my hands start to tremble. I clench them into tight fists, willing myself not to do anything rash. I can't make myself a target. My eyes meet my fellow District 12 tributes with their little group. Maysilee and William are shooting each other nervous looks and Leila looks horrified.

Another of the Careers, a boy from District 4, steps up. "Did you guys really think you should come and mess with us?"

Shimmer grabs Jack by the neck and slams him against the wall. He cries out in pain and for a moment, he sounds so much like Hayden that I can't stand it. I bite my lip so hard that I taste blood. But I shouldn't do anything. Making enemies with the Careers is like asking for a painful death. But Jack looks so helpless.

Rowan steps up, trembling, to defend his friend. He hardly gets one word out before the District 4 boy kicks him to the ground. Several of the instructors move forward to break up the scene but are unable to pass the other 11 Careers.

Jack mumbles something but his voice is trembling so hard I don't understand what he's saying.

"What did you say?" she all but snarls in his face.

"I didn't know it was yours," he says, his voice shaking. "I wouldn't have taken it otherwise."

"Well, it was _my _axe! A thing like you wouldn't have been able to use it anyway."

He mumbles something and Shimmer pushes him even further into the wall. I feel a sharp pain in my palms and look down to realize that I've dug my nails into my flesh so hard there's blood trickling down my palm. I take a deep breath, trying to control the temper rising in me. The instructors are still struggling to reach them.

Jack starts to gag as Shimmer presses into his neck. His eyes water and before I know what I'm doing, I'm pushing through the tributes crowding around the scene.

Some of the Careers try to block me but I'm so livid, I don't even think twice before shoving them aside. My breathing is so quick that I almost feel lightheaded with anger. I break through the pack. "Leave him alone!"

Before I can stop myself, I push Shimmer to the ground. Jack crumples to the ground, coughing and gasping. I turn to the District 4 boy, who I hear someone call Dennick. He glares at me before backing away from Rowan.

Shimmer jumps up to face me. "What's your problem, 12!"

_Calm down! _my mind yells at me but I've always had an issue with my temper. I'm fine one moment and burning with anger the next.

"My problem is that you can't leave them alone!" I shout. "What did they do to you?"

She raises her hand threateningly. "That 7 boy was using _my_ axe!"

"It doesn't belong to you."

"Why do you care?"

Her hand swings, probably to punch me, but at that moment, one of the District 2 boys grips her wrist.

"Leave it, Shimmer." He says. "He isn't worth it."

"Back off, Chase!" Shimmer snarls. "I'm going to _destroy_ him."

Two other Careers, both again from District 2, step up.

"We'll do that in the arena," the girl says.

"We have to train anyway," adds the boy. "We shouldn't kill him now."

My blood boils. _Th__ey think they can kill me? _

"Gloria, Xavier! I don't care. This 12 boy has some nerve, coming up to _us _like this."

"Whatever," I glare at her. "It's not like you guys are invincible. Only one victor, remember?"

She laughs, but in a mean way that sends shivers up my spine. "And you think that it'll be you?"

"I think it's more likely than seeing you win."

Shimmer screams in rage. Xavier, Chase, and Gloria move to stop her—they have some sense at least—but she just pushes them back like she would a fly. Her fists rise but before I can even raise an arm to defend myself, I'm yanked of my feet and pushed to the ground. I bang my shoulder and am so winded, I stay sitting on the floor for just a second, trying to get air into my lungs.

The moment that second passes, I jump to my feet to confront whoever basically threw me to the ground. To my surprise, I see one of the instructors standing in front of me. A quick look behind me shows me that Shimmer is in the same position. The other instructors are trying to get all the other tributes back to the stations. I lock eyes with Jack and Rowan. They give me a thanking but fearful look and at that moment, I'm not sure whether they are afraid of the Careers or of me.

I catch sight of an instructor ushering Maysilee's little group back to the dart station they were at. An odd choice of weapon I guess. Leila and William have a concerned yet mostly shocked look on their face while Maysilee, although I can see the concern somewhere, looks at me like I'm the dumbest person she's ever met. Maybe I am. I just made enemies with all 12 of the Careers. Not my smartest move.

_What have I done?_

I'm so lost in my thoughts that I almost miss the scolding the instructors seem to think we need. Almost.

"No fighting before the Games!" the one who threw me down exclaims. "You all know the rules."

Shimmer rolls her eyes in annoyance. "Whatever." She turns to me and gives me a glare that chills me to my core. "Mark my word, 12. My axe will deliver your death blow in the arena." I struggle to keep my arrogant mask on my face.

"I'm not afraid of you," I say, surprised at how indifferent my voice sounds on the outside.

She huffs and stalks off. The rest of the Careers, after giving me menacing glares, follow her back to the weapon stations.

Since I'm aware that mostly the entire room is still watching me, I force myself not to show any emotion and head back to the plant station. I see Jack and Rowan waiting for me.

"Thank you." Jack says quietly once I get near them. I can see red marks where Shimmer grasped at his throat starting to turn a delicate shade of purple.

"It was no problem," I say before they head of to another station. We both know that that is a lie.

The rest of the day at training is torture. I can't focus on any of the stations because of how angry I am. There's some part of me in there that's afraid but most of it is still anger. At least for now. Anger at the Careers. At the Capitol. At the Games. And a whole lot of other things I can't even figure out. My hands are still shaking a bit and I almost cut my fingers twice when trying to make a complicated snare with some wire. It isn't that hard of a task, but a lot of things are just harder when you're being drowned in emotions.

I'm so relieved when training is over. I don't even wait for Maysilee, William, and Leila before heading back up to our floor.

I decide to take a cold shower and change out of my training clothes. Then, I just lounge around in my room, not wanting to face anyone after today. The anger turns into fear and I don't want to think about the enemies I've made today or how that will change my luck in the Games. The thought of Hayden having to watch me die on live television makes me want to throw up. I twist Serena's ring on my finger, over and over. She believed in me. _How could I let her down? _I told her I'd win. Now I don't know if I can.

In what seems like minutes, Venisha is knocking on my door, telling me I'm late for dinner.

When I arrive, everyone is talking about strategies for the Games.

"Well, we obviously shouldn't go for the Cornucopia." William says, sprinkling something called croutons over his salad.

"That's right," Reynald says. "But try and get something near you. A backpack or even a small knife can mean the difference between life and death." He spots me standing in front of them and sighs. "What took you so long?"

I shrug and look at my feet, not in the mood to look at anyone. I can feel more than one pair of eyes on me and quickly sit down.

Reynald must have been waiting for me to join them because he immediately starts talking about the one thing I was trying to avoid: alliances.

"District 9's mentors have come to talk to me," he says. "Apparently, the two siblings want you three," he points to Maysilee, William, and Leila, "as allies."

"Oh, yes," William says, skillfully avoiding my gaze, "we got along with them pretty well. We think they would be valuable allies."

"We also want to ally with Ana," Leila says. "She's the oldest one from District 10."

I frown, remembering the girl who had tried to get in with the Careers yesterday. That must be the older girl I saw sitting with them at lunch. I didn't think that she would actually want to ally with three kids from District 12 and a pair of siblings from 9. _Why would they trust her?_

But Reyanld just nods. "Okay, I'll tell 9 you agreed and I'll talk with 10." He turns to me. "What about you? Why weren't you with them?"

I shrug and do my best to act nonchalant although I'm slightly hurt and bothered. Other than Jack and Rowan, no one in another district has even talked to me. Unless you count Shimmer screaming at me and the rest of the Careers looking at me like their greatest desire was to rip my throat out. "I don't need any allies."

I catch Maysilee roll her eyes and realize I must have sounded so arrogant.

Reynald seems to realize that I'm hiding something. "Did something happen in training?"

"No," I say evenly.

Unfortunately, by asking the others, Reynald ends up with a pretty good idea of what happened between me and the Careers. When I hear them talk about it, it sounds much worse.

"Why would you do that?" Reynald exclaims obviously fed up with me. "You made yourself an instant target!"

"Like I didn't realize that already," I mutter, hoping he won't realize just how much those words scare me.

"You stood up for two random kids who are going to be dead in a few days."

My hands shake under that table. I can't tell him that Jack reminds me of my brother or that those two are just so innocent, I couldn't let them be hurt. I fish for something to say. "The Careers are so annoying. Acting like they are so much better than us."

He shakes his head. "Learn to control your temper, boy."

"I think it's too late for that."

He looks me right in the eye with a sharp look. "Then, you better have a plan for when you're in that arena. Because, right now, your chances are pretty low." Dinner is pretty subdued after that.

William catches my arm as I head back to my room. "That was really brave of you."

I don't know what to say. "It was pretty dumb too."

"Dumb," he sighs, "but still brave. You're not as bad as you seem."

That night, it takes me even longer to get to sleep.

* * *

**Sorry this took so long to update. I'm pretty happy with this chapter even though some paragraphs and parts kept on getting deleted because I forgot to save them. The good thing is that now I'm going to be able to have a lot more updates. I'm even trying for one every week if I can. I'm trying to finish this story in the next few months. I know that the prequel came out but I haven't read it yet and have no idea who the first District 12 victor is. I'm not going to change Reynald anyway so I guess you guys just have to pretend that he's the victor. If you have any comments or thoughts, I would love if you could leave a review.**


	10. Individual Sessions

**Chapter 10: Individual Sessions**

Maysilee Donner

"You really like that pin, don't you?" William asks me as he chews some bread, jostling me from my thoughts.

I look down to where my fingers have been fidgeting with my mockingjay pin. Maximus, my stylist, told me that I would have to give it to him tomorrow so the Gamemakers could review it. I'm not too eager to part with the only thing I have from home but he said that he would make sure to give it back to me before I entered the arena.

"Yes," I say. "It's my token. It was my uncle's."

He leans over, touching my inner forearm where I've pinned my token to my sleeve. A tingle shoots up my arm and I force myself to look away, hiding the hint of a blush creeping up my cheeks.

"It's a mockingjay," he says, making it sound like a fact instead of a question. Probably because Mockingjays are pretty recognizable. "It's an interesting choice. Because of what happened with the Capitol."

I nod, because I've heard the story of the mockingjay many times back in District 12. "It was my uncle's." A question surfaces in my mind and I turn back to face him. "Where's your token?"

He frowns, his eyes glazing over and focusing on something over my head. "I don't have one. Everything was just so overwhelming at the Justice Building. I guess my family forgot."

A wave of sympathy washes over me. He doesn't have something to remind him of home. But there's nothing I can do now. My pin is the only thing from home that I have and William would never take something from the Capitol to the Games.

"Can you two stop breaking off from us?" Ana's voice cuts into our conversation. She, along with Leila, Mazie, and Miller, are talking beside us.

At first, I was pretty hesitant to take her as an ally, mainly because of her trying to get in with the Careers and because she just seems intimidating. But yesterday, I realized that she was really good with a knife and was better than all of us, even Leila, at the plant recognition station. She was really nice to all of us and William said that he trusts her so I guess it'll have to do.

"Sorry," William says, turning to face them. "What were you guys talking about?"

"We were talking about our individual training sessions," Mazie says. "We are all thinking about how to get a decent score."

My stomach sinks. For a moment, I had forgotten about the individual training sessions. As it's lunch now, we only have a few hours left to prepare.

"I was thinking about doing the knives," says Miller. "I got it right on the target twice in a row yesterday."

Mazie beams and hugs her brother. "He was great!"

I bite down on my lip. I still can't help but feel bad for the both of them. They are both very likely to die in the next week and that there is nothing I can do for them. Not if I want to get home too.

The others discuss their plans as well. Ana decides to do the knives and plant recognition and I know that she will probably get a very good score. Leila wants to do plant recognition and the hammocks. Mazie decides to do something with the snares and hammocks as she has delicate hands that tie knots very well. I realize that our little group is more survival based than anything and that we would be very much doomed if we were to attacked. I decide that I need to make sure I perfect a weapon as well as survival skills if I want to protect everyone here.

I'm just coming to this conclusion when the bell signifying the end of lunch rings, telling us we only have three more hours of training left. After this, we won't get to try anything else. Then, it will be our individual session, interviews, and then the actual Games. I feel sick just thinking about it.

A soft touch on my arm brings me out of my thoughts.

"Come on, Maysilee," William says, holding out his hand to help me up. "Let's make the most out of the last bit of training."

The six of us, along with all the other tributes, head back into the training room.

"Where do you guys want to go?" Miller asks us.

"Can we try the darts again?" I ask. "I want to see if I can depend on them for a weapon."

Miller nods. Hie's the second oldest in our group and I know he understands why I feel like we all need a weapon. He must feel the same way as his sister isn't a fighter.

As we head to the dart station, two tributes, a young girl and boy, stop in front of us. They seem maybe around Leila's age, but I can't place where I've seen them before. Maybe at the Tribute Parade.

"Hello," William says politely to the two kids. "Is there something you need help with?"

"We just wanted to say thanks," the boy mumbles, staring at his feet. "For helping me and Kylie on the first day of training."

"Oh," I say softly. They are the two 12-year-olds from District 6. The ones that fell at the obstacle course.

"No problem," Miller smiles. "I'm sure you two will get the hang of it."

"Thank you," the girl, Kylie, looks up at him and smiles. She points at her district partner. "I'm Kylie, and this is Apollo."

"Nice to meet you both."

For a moment, I think that the two of them will stay with us, but then they scamper off to another station. I look after them, wishing desperetly that the Quell twist hadn't been to have twice as many tributes in the arena. Maybe then Kylie and Apollo would be in their homes'. Maybe I'd be with Maylene and Iris, safe and sound.

Within the half hour that we spend at the dart station, my aim improves. After some encouragemnt from the rest of us, Mazie and Leila try it as well but it's clear that the two of them are just not good with weapons. William and Miller have wandered over to the hand to hand combat station a few stations away and I can see William trying to teach Miller how to attack correctly.

"We should ally with them." Mazie speaks up suddenly, startling me into shooting my dart before I have time to sight the target. Somehow, it lands just outside the center ring. Maybe I've gotten better than I thought.

"Ally with who?" Leila asks.

"The two District 6 kids. Kylie and Apollo."

For a moment, I want to agree with her. Those two kids may not have a chance by themselves, but with us they could survive for a while. But would that really be best? Wouldn't it be better for them to die in the Bloodbath before being traumatized by the Games? Our alliance of six is already one-eighth of all the tributes. Adding two more kids would really just hurt our overall chances.

The moment that thought enters my head, I bite down on my lip. How could I even think that? These two kids must have a family and I should really try and help them live for as long as possible. I think of William, with his kindness and desire to help everyone, and wish I was more like him.

"Why would we ever ally with them?" Ana asks, her voice raising a little before going back down. She frowns at Leila and Mazie. "We don't need even _more _weaklings in our alliance."

Leila's eyes glisten.

"Hey," I snap, turning to Ana. "They aren't weaklings. The two of them are great with survival skills."

Her expression, which was annoyed a moment ago, seems to change back into her usual kind one.

"I'm so sorry, Leila," she says. "I didn't mean it like that. Did I hurt your feelings?"

Leila sniffles softly. "It's ok. Things are hard for all of us right now."

"Come on guys," I say, trying to lighten the mood. "Let's go practice something else." I think about how well Mazie and Leila did with snares. "What about snares?"

"You guys can go," Mazie says. "I want to help my brother. Maybe William can give me some tips on how to defend myself."

"I'll go with Mazie," Ana says, probably sensing that Leila was hurt by what she had said before. "I want to practice my skills there too."

"Okay, meet you guys in an hour?"

"Okay."

As we walk over to the snares station, I take the time to watch some of the other tributes. I'll only see them tomorrow during their interviews and the Games will be soon after. My stomach clenches painfully just thinking about it.

Haymitch has practically been glued to the knife station. That and the main few survival stations, especially the plant recognition one, which makes it hard for us to practice there. Although he seems to studiously avoid looking at anyone. I can't help but wonder if he has a certain reason for practically isolating himself from the rest of us. He seems determined to be alone.

The Careers, as usual, are at the weapons. I haven't seen any of the 12 of them even glance at the survival skills. Reynald would probably call then over confident. But I'm not sure how much I trust Reynald anyway.

Me and Leila spend the next little while trying to learn some snares. Actually, it's Leila trying to teach me how to do a snare while she perfects them on her second or third try. Eventually, I give up, wishing I could go and do the obstacle course again. It almost feels as though I'm back home when I'm there.

As I finger some rope at the snare station, a sudden idea comes to mind.

"Leila," I say suddenly. "I just thought of something."

She looks at me curiously. "What is it?"

I quickly explain William telling me that he doesn't have a token and how perhaps a rope bracelet, while not from home, would be better than anything else here.

"It would remind him of the two of us. We're also from 12 and I think he would rather have a bracelet from us than go with nothing or something else from the Capitol."

Leila beams. "That's a great idea!"

We spend nearly the rest of training making a bracelet of rope for William. While Leila ties rope strands together using intricate knots, I fashion little charms from wire bits from my failed snares. As I make each one, I try my best to put my thoughts and feelings into them, hoping that our small gift might give him strength in the Arena.

"You like him, don't you."

I look up and realize that Leila has been watching me. I feel my cheeks heat up.

I try and feign ignorance. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Leila."

"Come on," she grins. "He likes you too!"

"I really don't think now is the best time to tell him."

"He has to know. You guys are always hugging! The both of you are so close."

I sigh. "I don't know. We can't let ourselves get carried away. I think he knows too. But I don't think I can deal with my feelings for him on top of everything that's going on."

Leila pouts but she's a smart kid. She knows that me and William can't be together.

She brightens up after a few moments. "The bracelet looks great!"

It's true. Somehow, the spare bits of rope and wire came together to make something somewhat pretty.

We get up and are about to head over to where William is with the others when a voice speaks behind us.

"Hey! Where do you two think you're going?"

We both freeze. Leila's hand shakes against my thigh.

I turn around slowly and see the trainer from the snare station right in front of us. He eyes the bracelet in my hand. I didn't even stop to think that taking scraps of rope and wire wasn't allowed. The Capitol has so much and surely these scraps isn't of any worth to them.

"What do you two think you're doing?" the trainer asks. "You aren't supposed to take things."

"I—I know," I say, trying to stand my ground. "It's just that—"

"Our friend doesn't have a token from family," Leila says, smoothly cutting across me. I look at her in surprise and see that her timidness a moment ago has disappeared. "We made him a bracelet to take into the Games with him. We didn't take any of your stuff, just the bits and pieces from our snares. Can you please let him keep this? It would the world to us." Her sweet innocence seems to melt the trainer right away.

"I—" the trainer sighs and leans close to us. "Normally I wouldn't be allowed to do that. But there isn't a rule stating that you can't have leftovers from stations so I think I can let this slide." His eyes soften. "I feel bad for you kids, I really do. But I need this job to feed my family." He glances at Leila. "My daughter is younger than you and I love her with all my heart. Give that to your friend." He straightens up. "If anyone realizes, say no one noticed. Good luck."

He walks away and Leila slumps into me.

"That was close."

"Yeah," I agree. "You did a great job at convincing him."

She smiles. "He seemed nice enough."

"I didn't know that there was even one person in the Capitol who didn't support the Games 100%." I look down at the bracelet still in my hand and slip it into my pocket. "Let's give this to William later. We don't want anyone else trying to stop us."

"Good idea."

The rest of the day flies by uncomfortably fast and soon all 48 of us are back in the lunch room, waiting to be called in for our private sessions.

Our group sits together, the same way we did at lunch. Leila and Mazie are quiet, nerves practically radiating off them. Waves of worry come at me. So much depends on these scores. Getting just the right score means getting one high enough to get sponsors but low enough that the Careers overlook you.

My entire body in tingling with nerves. I'm not alone. Everyone is either sitting in little groups or off by themselves, talking or thinking quietly. Well, everyone except for the Careers, of course. They don't have to worry about their score. The 12 of them will probably get scores numbers above the rest of ours. The outlying districts are lucky enough to get fives and sixes.

Shimmer from District 1, the one who got in a fight with Haymitch yesterday, is called in and I sigh when I realize that 43 more people will have their training sessions before mine. As the oldest girl tribute from District 12, I have to go last.

I find Haymitch is sitting by himself in one of the corners of the room. He's staring straight ahead, his leg bouncing over and over. He seems to be muttering repeatedly under his breath. From the way his lips move, it seems like a short phrase, being muttered over and over again. I frown, wondering what's so important that he's saying it so many times. His hands dance around the collar of his shirt.

"What's he doing?" I look to my side, where William has also been watching Haymitch.

I shrug. "Maybe he's thinking of what to do for his session."

"Have you figured out what you're doing for sure yet?"

"I just want to get a decent score. Maybe I'll do the obstacle course and darts."

"You're great at those, you should be fine."

"Thanks. Make sure to do the weights and combat stuff."

"I will."

We lapse into silence, both of us left to our own thoughts. When Mazie gets called in, Leila scoots over closer to us.

She nudges my shoulder. "Let's give it to him now?"

William frowns slightly. "Give who to what?"

I had forgotten about the bracelet still in my pocket. I pull it out and hand it to him. "We made you a bracelet. For your token."

William looks down at the rope bracelet in his hand, his expression closed off. Maybe he doesn't like it.

"I'm sorry," I say quickly. "We shouldn't have assumed that you wanted one. Maybe—"

He cuts me off by wrapping me and Leila into a big hug. I feel something wet land on my neck and when we pull back, he has a few tears trickling down his cheeks. I brush them away with my fingertips.

"It's perfect," he says, grinning as Leila fastens it on his wrist. "I couldn't have asked for anything better. Thank you."

The three of us sit like that, William's arms over our shoulders, until he gets called in. I squeeze his arm as he stands and he smiles back.

"Good luck."

He disappears into the training room and Leila turns to me, her bright green eyes wide.

"I'm scared," she confesses to me.

"Hey, don't be scared," I say. "You're great at survival skills. Just show them that."

"Okay."

We both turn to watch Haymitch, the only other person still in the room. His hands are still around the collar of his shirt, now twisting and bunching up the fabric. His eyes are glazed over as he stares at the same spot he's been staring at for a long time now and even from a distance I can see him biting his lip. I've seen him do great at the knife station and can't think of why he's so nervous.

"Why don't we go over to him?" Leila whispers into my ear. "He's from our district after all and we hardly know a thing about him. I asked him yesterday why he didn't want to have allies and he didn't really give me a straight answer."

"I don't know," I frown. "I think he just hates everyone."

I agree after she asks again and we head over to him. He only looks up once we are directly in front of him.

His eyes clear and a smirk covers his face. "What do you two want?"

I roll my eyes. _This is why we don't bother talking to him._

"Nothing," Leila says. "We just wanted to say hi."

He frowns. "You must want something or else you wouldn't be here." His voice sounds annoyingly indifferent.

"No," I sigh, annoyed. "We just want to wish you good luck."

"Oh," he looks slightly taken aback. "Thanks, I guess. Good luck to you guys too."

Leila seems to take this as an invitation to talk and sits down on a chair in front of him. "What are you doing for your session?"

He frowns again. _Wow,_ I think to myself, _he frowns an awful lot. But then again, it goes well with his personality._ "I don't think I'm supposed to tell you. Isn't it a secret?"

"It's not like we're going to use it against you," I say impatiently.

"Why not?" he retorts. "That's the point of these dumb Games. You find people's strengths and weaknesses and use them against them. They are no friends here. We're in a fight to the death."

His name gets called and he leaves without looking back at us.

Leila's lip quivers. "That's not fair. We wouldn't have betrayed him. The rest of us are friends."

I give her a hug. Her innocence only reminds me of how young she is. "Forget about him. He's just like that."

"At least now we know why he doesn't want allies."

"Why not?"

She turns in the chair to fully face me. "He thinks they'll betray him or they'll die."

"Wow," I say, impressed. "You really are smart."

After about 8 minutes, Leila's name gets called and I'm left in my own thoughts.

I allow myself to think about District 12. About Maylene and Iris. Iris would have been great at the plant recognition station here. The apothecary has a homemade book full of knowledge about edible plants and other helpful things. I can't help but think about how useful that book would have been for us. Maylene on the other hand, probably would be like Leila. She's the delicate, beautiful twin. The one who's afraid of blood and would never hurt would never stand a chance in the Games and for a moment, I'm grateful my name was called instead of hers.

I think of my parents. My mom, with a great taste in different flavours and the genius behind our family candy shop. And my dad, buying me my canary, Aqua, as my first reaping gift—Maylene had asked for a new dress. I think of his way with customers, giving discounts to people who couldn't afford he prices because he's just kind that way. He would have liked William for sure.

"Maysilee Donner."

I look up and see one of the Gamemakers beckoning me inside. He looks tired, like he can't wait to head home.

When I get inside, I realize that all of them seem to feel the same way. A good majority of them are as drunk as Reynald usually is, they're laughing too loud and swaying about. A few of them look wary though, talking quietly among themselves. I wonder if a previous tribute did something impressive. I find myself hoping it was one of my friends.

I clear my throat to catch their attention. "Maysilee Donner. District 12."

Only a handful of the Gamemakers look at me and I feel a rush of anger. They won't even bother to give me seven and a half minutes of their time. Since we have double the tributes, we get half the time to show them our skills. I have to squeeze everything I'm trying to show them into seven small minutes. And even then, they probably won't pay attention.

But there isn't anything I can do. It isn't worth angering them, because they could make my life torture in the arena. Instead, I force myself to head calmly to the obstacle course station.

Racing through it is wonderful. If I close my eyes, I can pretend that I'm back at home, playing with Maylene and Iris the way we used to when we were younger.

I finish the obstacle course in my best time yet, beaming as I turn to face the Gamemakers. A few give me approving nods but the rest are still distracted by wine and alcohol. More annoyed and disappointed than anything, I head over to the dart station, hoping to get a few more Gamemakers noticing me if I use a weapon. After all, I have to make sure that they Cornucopia has one. Something like knives, which both Miller and Ana, along with many other tributes, are good with is almost always given in the Arena. The blowgun isn't a popular weapon but if I can prove some promise with it, they may put it there for me.

Knowing that whatever I do know seals my score, I end up getting nervous, missing the first target. Biting my lip down in concentration, I get the next three shots in the target and the last one sticks precariously just on the edge of the main bullseye.

A quick glance at the clock tells me that I still have three minutes left. I quickly extend the obstacle course, adding a couple more jumps, rope swings, and dives. Then, taking a deep breath, I begin to run through the course.

I leap across a mat and swings across another on a hanging rope. Instead of diving to avoid a swinging mat like the trainers taught us, I do a backflip out of the way. Maylene only taught me the trick a few months ago so I stumble a little when I land, falling to one knee. I throw myself straight to the ground to avoid another mat and jump over some more obstacles. I run at the finish and skid to a stop.

I turn to the Gammemakers. About half are looking at me, taking down notes and nodding in my direction. The other half are still too busy drinking but I'm glad that some of them have been paying attention.

"You may go now, Ms Donner."

I nod and exit, hoping that I did a good job.

Haymitch Abernathy

After my individual session, I spend the rest of my time until dinner pacing my room. There's always been an underlying sense of nervousness within me my whole life. It got worse when my dad died and even worse when I was reaped. Ever since yesterday, when I got into that fight with Shimmer, it feels like I'm a vibrating machine on the verge of some explosion. Pacing around has helped a bit with the nerves, although now, I'm in danger of creating a hole in the rug in front of my bed.

I scoff and sit down on the floor. The Capitol could properly replace this rug without a thought. I don't know any house in District 12, except maybe the mayor's, that had a rug anywhere. Stretching out my tingling legs, I allow myself to think about training. The Careers this year will definitely get 8s to 10s. No one in the history has ever gotten a 12 and 11s are quite rare. I find myself hoping that William, Leila, and Maysilee get decent scores. I may not understand their wish for allies and they may not like me but I know them the best and if I don't win, one of them should. It would be best for Hayden and my mom.

An image of Jack and Rowan being yelled at by the Careers comes into my mind. Hayden and Jack look so alike, I know that I could never watch him die. Rowan as well is so young and innocent. A part of me wants to ally with them so I can protect them for as long as possible. But then what would happen? Just death, destroying whoever is left.

The nervousness comes back in a large wave and I force a deep breath through my nose. I remember Jack being decent with an axe. Maybe he'll get a score decent enough to gain him and Rowan a few sponsors. I know that they are going to ally together no matter what.

Then, I think of my own score and go back to pacing a hole in the rug. By the time I had gone in, they were all drunk out of their minds. I did the plant recognition test they set up first and got a perfect score. Then I had headed over to the knife station. I remember how I paused and tried to think of a way to grab their attention. Using three of my seven and a half minutes, I had dragged mats around until I had a decent lookalike of the Cornucopia. I spent the rest acting as though the Games had just started, dodging my way around programmed dummies and grabbing knives from the ground. I "killed" some dummies too even though I still didn't think I could actually kill someone. The whole trouble of setting up a Bloodbath scene was just so I could try and show the Gamemakers some of my planning and tactic skills, because my dad always said I had a talent for scheming. In the middle of "killing" one of the last dummies, I had looked up and found that only three or four Gamemakers had been watching me. A burst of furious anger had flared up inside me. Wrenching the knife out of the dummy, I threw it at the set of lights between my Cornucopia and the Gamemakers, jumping out of the way as the lights shattered and rained down to the floor.

At least half of the Gamemakers had been staring after me as I'd been dismissed. Passing an Avox who hurried in to fix up the light, I had been here pacing since then, wondering if my recreation of a Bloodbath and my stunt with the lights, along with my perfect score on the plants test, was enough to give me a decent score. I needed one if I had any chance at all of getting sponsors. No one usually sponsored District 12. Only one victor in 50 years wasn't very promising.

"Haymitch!" a voice calls through the door. I easily place the high pitched voice and accent to Venisha. "It's time for dinner!"

I glance up at the clock in my room. Sure enough, it's time for dinner. _Had that much time passed?_ My hands come into fists almost automatically when I think about where I'll be in less than 24 hours. _The Arena._

Dinner is quieter than usual. Probably because we are all so nervous to see what our scores are. Evangeline, along with the others' stylists—I still don't know their names—are here as well, which makes sense since they are as important in helping us as Venisha is. Maybe even more important, since all Venisha does is talk about schedules.

The others look at their stylists with some distaste and I don't blame them since we were shown as coal miners to the whole world because of them. But I still give Evangeline a hidden smile, remembering how she helped me with my costume. Reynald asks a few times about what we did but nobody answers. He later decides that drinking is more entertaining. I notice with an odd flare of hope that he's only drinking half of what he usually does at dinner, which is a lot. Maybe he's trying to sober up in time to be able to help us in the Arena.

I finish up a fish and bean soup before we head to the living room to see our scores.

William, Leila, and Maysilee are talking in front of me.

"I got a perfect score on the plant test," Leila says to the other two. "I did some snares and set up three fires. Hopefully that's enough."

Maysilee reassures her that it's enough while William tells them about the weights he threw around and how he beat a trainer in a hand to hand fight. Hearing about their sessions makes me more worried to get our scores.

In trying to sit as far from the other tributes as possible, I end up on an armchair next to Reynald, who is watching me. I turn to the television, my fingernails digging into my palms.

As expected, the Careers all get 8s to 10s. We all collectively gasp when Shimmer gets an 11. I make a mental note that she must be far more deadlier than I thought. Jack gets a 6 and it's an impressive score for a 12-year-old. I watch Maysilee, who I have the best view of, as she watches her friend's scores come up on the screen. The sibling set from 9 get a five and seven, while the District 10 girl gets a nine. I raise my eyebrows, she must be hiding some sort of special skill to have gotten a score high enough to be a Career. Rowan's face is fading away along with his 4 and then it's time for District 12.

Maysilee and Leila cheer when William pulls off an 8 but I'm too busy staring at the screen, like I can convince the screen to give me a good score with just my eyes. My face appears on the screen and my mouth falls open when a nine pops up under it.

"Good job to the both of you." Reynald gives us a nod. "Quite impressive."

I'm shocked as well. Last year, District 12 got a three and a four.

Leila's face comes up next and she squeals when a six appears on the screen. Maysilee gets a seven and she smiles, although she says she wishes she hadn't slipped during the obstacle course.

"Good job everyone!" Venisha smiles. "Those were some great scores indeed." Reynald nods again as our stylists congratulate us. "Hopefully some sponsors will notice you guys, especially after the parade I had been worried we wouldn't have any sponsors for you four." I shudder, remembering the disaster that was our performance at the Tribute Parade.

Venisha sends us to bed while reminding us we have to be up early for tomorrow, when we'll spend the day preparing for our interviews.

I'm exhausted from a day of nerves and I end up asleep as soon my head hits the pillow.

* * *

**Okay, I ended up taking three weeks instead of just a week but since I'm pretty sure no one is reading this obsessively, I'm sure it's fine. The story is nearly half done now and the next few chapters should be easier. The next chapter will definitely be up within the week because I've actually already written a lot of it because it was a scene I was really looking forward to.**

**This was such a long chapter but Haymitch didn't get as much POV time so he gets some in the next chapter.**

**Side note: Has anyone else realized that in the main series, the individual sessions are 15 minutes long and since there are 24 tributes, it would take 6 hours? That's a long time!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	11. Panic Sets In

**Warning: panic attack in this chapter. PM me if you want a summary of what happened.**

**Chapter 11: Panic Sets In**

Haymitch Abernathy

For some reason, I find that I've been waiting for today. Training, as much as I liked preparing myself for the Arena, is over and today is our free days before the interviews. I glance at myself in the bathroom mirror as I brush my teeth. Well not entirely free. Today we are being coached on how to act, speak, and basically _be _for our interviews tomorrow. The day before we get thrown into the Games.

I grit my teeth. I've been trying so hard not to think of the Games, which has proved very hard since the Capitol is so excited about the "special and magnificent" Quarter Quell. Every night, I hear Capitol citizens parading through the streets. It makes getting to bed an awful lot harder. Especially because my nightmares have gotten even worse over the past few days.

"Haymitch," a voice comes from the door. At first, I tense, thinking that the feminine Capitol voice belonged to Venisha. But then I realize that it's just Evangeline. "Are you awake?"

"Yes," I call back, moving to sit on my bed. I cross my fingers, hoping my prep team isn't with her. "Come in."

I let out a breath when it's just her who walks through the door. She gives me a warm smile and holds out her hand. I notice her nails are encrusted with jewels.

"Do you have a token?"

I freeze. "My token?"

"Yes. Do you have one?"

I feel my fingers wrap around Serena's ring in my hand. "I do. Why?"

"We have to give it in today to the Gamemakers for review."

"Review?" I repeat dumbly, frowning at this new information. "Why do they have to review my token?"

"Well, they have to make sure no one brought a weapon or something else that could help them in the Games."

I can't help but roll my eyes at the thought of that. A Career must've tried that in the past. The thought of the Gamemakers touching Serena's ring makes me sick.

"Will I get it back?"

She smiles again. "Of course, you will. But we have to give it within the next hour if we want to get it back by tomorrow." Right. Because the Games are tomorrow.

I pause, fingering the ring in my hands.

"Also, Venisha told me to tell you that the others are meeting for breakfast in five minutes."

"Oh, okay." I realize I should probably get going. I take a deep breath and hand her the ring. She turns it over in her hands.

"This is a nice token."

"Thanks." I fight the urge to snatch it back. I pause before I speak again. "It's my girlfriend's." I want to take back the words immediately. Why should the Capitol know anything about my life? But Evangeline is much nicer than the rest of the Capitol and she deserves my trust more than anyone else here. At least she actually tried to help me.

She gets up to leave. At my door, she turns back to say. "I hope you can give it back to her yourself." Before I can reply, she's gone.

What did she mean by that? Does she really think I have a chance at winning? I think of Serena's face. And of Hayden's and my mom's. They need me. I have to get back to them.

When I get to the dining room, Venisha is talking about the plans for today. For a moment, I'm tempted to sit with the others. I miss talking to people the way the three of them talk to each other. William pushes back Maysilee's hair from her face and my stomach twists. I don't know if they know how obviously in love they are. I don't think that either of them even knows that the other likes them so much. I decide to sit at the opposite side of the table.

We are going to be prepped for our interviews in pairs. I'm with William and Maysilee and Leila are together. The girls have to start their day with Venisha and get trained on proper etiquette while me and William have to discuss our interview angle with Reynald. I'm not sure which one I look forward to the least. I just want both of the prep sessions to be over so I can go back to my room and get some sort of relaxation.

Reynald shows up when we are nearly done breakfast and drags me and William off to the next compartment. William waves at Leila and Maysilee before sitting down on the chair next to mine.

"Alright," Reynald says, leaning back into his armchair. "What am I going to do with you two?"

I stay silent, mainly because I have no idea what sort of angle I'd have but also because everything I say tends to tick Reynald off. And as irritating of a mentor he can be, I know I'll need his help in the Arena.

Reynald sits there silently, most likely observing us. It's odd, and I find myself shifting under his gaze. William seems to be doing the same.

"Of course," he says after a few minutes. "I have the perfect angles for you both." He points at William. "You're the kind boy from District 12 who has a big heart. Try to seem somewhat relatable."

William nods seriously, looking relieved. He must have thought Reynald would give him something hard. "I can do that for sure."

Reynald makes a sound of agreement and waves his hand in my direction. "You can be the snarky, arrogant guy who thinks he can win. Try to be indifferent, like you think the whole thing is beneath you."

My face automatically scrunches up. "Excuse me?"

He rolls his eyes. "What? You don't like it? It suits you perfectly."

I open and close my mouth, too angry and confused to form words. Of course, that's how I came off to everyone here. Like I'm just an overconfident, arrogant, snarky teen. Like I don't care.

I know I care too much. Hours of shaking under the blankets and nightmares have proved that. My mom always said that behind my toughness was a caring individual. I just never showed it to anyone. I've had to force all my feelings down under a layer of indifference for so long. Now the only way to deal with everything was to act like I couldn't care less whether or not I made it out alive. As much as I despise the thought, maybe I have become the same boy everyone sees me as.

"So? Are you going to do it?"

I dig my fingernails into my palms. "Fine."

Reynald nods. "Good. I don't think we could've painted you as kind and relatable as well."

I grit my teeth. "Of course, you couldn't."

Reynald gets up. "Looks like you two have an hour until lunch. Go enjoy yourselves, I guess."

He leaves and William, after a backwards glance at me, follows him out. He's probably going to wait for the girls to finish up with Venisha.

Finally alone, I put my head in my hands. I don't even know how I'm supposed to feel. No one likes to think of themselves as an arrogant, indifferent, and snarky teen. I did all that to protect others. To protect myself from being hurt. What if now, that's becoming who I really am?

I think of my dad and an odd, misplaced flare of panic shoots up from within me. Those have been happening a lot lately. In two days, maybe I'll be dead like him. Hopefully I won't have to go through the pain of being blown up. My mom wouldn't be able to handle seeing that, especially since I look almost exactly like him. She would fade away again and who knows what would happen to Hayden then. I have to win and I thought I could.

But now, I'm not so sure.

Maysilee Donner

Reynald is discussing more strategies for the Games and I can't help but think that it's a little late for that.

"Don't go for the weapons," he says. "I don't think you guys could put up a fight against the Careers at the Bloodbath. There will be more of them this year."

William frowns. "But we'll need some sort of weapon, won't we?"

I glance over at Haymitch, who usually doesn't miss a chance to argue with our mentor. He is strangely subdued, picking at his food and looking deep in thought.

"If you're lucky, a bag from the Bloodbath will have a small weapon in it, along with water and food. That should be enough to keep you guys going?"

I frown as well "Do we have any sponsors?"

Reynald shrugs. "The boys' high training scores have sparked some interest. Tomorrow is your best chance at getting some sponsors so don't mess it up."

"Do you think we should hide?" Leila asks timidly.

"Well, it's harder for a large group to hide. I know you have a rather large group." He gives Haymitch a stern look. "But don't try and confront anyone. The Careers enjoy giving painful deaths." Leila shudders beside me.

"I think any death in the Games will be painful." Haymitch says, speaking for the first time. "They aren't exactly known for being peaceful."

Our mentor leans forward. "Yes, of course," he says sarcastically. "There's no way I would ever already know that. I've seen a lot of death in the Games."

"Then maybe you should work on telling us about that. Then we can try and avoid it."

"Hmm, let's see," he says mockingly. "You could be stabbed, die of starvation, die of dehydration, be decapitated, burned alive..."

I stare at Reynald in shock. William and I exchange a look. His face is pale and he's biting his lip. Leila whimpers beside me and I wrap an arm around her shoulder.

Reynald smirks as he gets up to leave. "Who knows, maybe you'll get yourself blown up. Doesn't that sound like a painful death?"

The reaction to his words is instantaneous. Leila bursts into tears, burying her head in her hands. I gasp, both of my hands flying to my mouth while William's jaw drops open in shock. We stare at each other again, our eyes wide. Haymitch freezes, his face going almost white. His fork clatters to the floor as he jumps to his feet, facing off our mentor.

"What did you just say?" Although his voice is remarkably low and calm sounding, it doesn't hide the fact that he's shaking all over. If looks could kill, Reynald would already be dead from Haymitch's glare.

"You wanted to know ways you could die. Well, I just listed some for you."

Leila's tears turn into sobs and I shift so I'm hugging her as tightly as I can. William hugs her from the other side, our eyes meeting. Haymitch looks over at us for a split second and I notice that he's lightly swaying on his feet.

"How could you say that?" he snarls. "That last one? About—" he cuts off, either too angry to speak or just at a loss for words.

Reynald seems to realize the true weight of his words far too late. He must know how talking about being blown up would affect Haymitch and Leila. "I didn't mean—"

"Yes, you did!" Haymitch snaps. He turns to leave, most likely to his room, but Venisha grabs his arm. He jerks away, stumbling back. "Don't touch me!"

Venisha tuts, obviously not knowing why everyone is getting so worked up. "Such impoliteness," she frowns. "I'll need to focus more on you when we're discussing etiquette for your interviews." She glances around at all of us. "I suppose lunch is over now. Why don't you and William come with me?"

William squezzes my hand and goes to where Venisha is standing. Haymitch is still glaring daggers at Reynald.

Reynald sighs. "Look, boy—"

"Forget it." Haymitch snarls, shoving past our mentor to follow Venisha and William.

Leila's sobs have died down but she still clings to me and refuses to look at Reynald.

He sighs again. "I didn't mean to say that."

Leila sniffs and wipes away her tears. "It's okay."

I give Reynald a look that I hope conveys that I think what he said was wrong but I'm not going to pick a fight about it.

There's an awkwardness hanging over me, Leila, and Reynald as the three of us discuss what angles me and Leila should play up for the cameras tomorrow. Reynald picks Leila's right away: innocent and sweet. Neither of us argue with that choice. It's easy and usually gets a few sympathetic sponsors. Leila's so sweet looking that it'll be easy for her to play up that angle.

He takes longer with me. Eventually, after trying overly confident, wise, childish, and much more, he decides to have me be humble and polite. He also tells me to make myself seem sweet but make sure people know I'm skilled and not an easy target. I agree, because I can be humble and polite, although I would rather not be so polite to the Capitol citizens who just want me killed for their mindless entertainment. Reynald says, no matter what, I'm not to say those words during my interview.

"That was tiring," Leila says once Reynald shoos up back to our rooms. He told us we should rest before dinner but I'm pretty sure he just needed a bottle. Leila seems fine now and I wonder if she's just pushing down her emotions.

"Well, it was better than being with Venisha this morning." I shudder at the memory of this morning with Venisha. She had forced us to walk the length of the room over and over until we had what she called an acceptable walk. Then she taught us the exact tone of voice to use and how to sit. Like anyone even cared if our shoulders were slightly bent or our legs were crossed.

Leila shudders too. "That was horrible."

I smile and nudge her playfully. "Be glad you don't have to wear high heels tomorrow like I do."

"Don't worry," she giggles, "I'm very grateful."

I stop walking. Her choice of words have really touched me. The fact that she even has something to be grateful for is shocking. In this world where little kids are left to die of starvation, Leila's sweetness is enough to break my heart.

Leila walks backwards a few steps to stand with me. When she turns, I see the slight frown on her face. "What's wrong?"

I force a smile and squeeze her shoulders. "Nothing. Come on, let's stay in the living room until dinner."

Leila tells me more about her life back home. Ever since the mining explosion a few years ago blew off her dad's legs, her mom always had to be working to give them basic needs and keep up with her dad's growing list of medicine. So she was left alone in the house without a parent to really take care of her. Of course, her mom working so hard wasn't even enough, which caused her to need to take tesserae as well.

"He doesn't have to come to the reaping," she sniffs. "I don't know if my mom even told him I got reaped."

"Wouldn't he know," I ask softly. "It's been a few days."

"He's in so much pain all the time," she replies, leaning into me. "The Mayor is my uncle so he can get us morphling from the Capitol. He's pretty out of it most of the time."

"Wow," I say softly. "That must be so hard. I'm so sorry."

She shrugs. "It's not your fault. I'm used to it now."

I open my mouth to say something but am interrupted by a door slamming open. Haymitch, storming through the door, yells something over his shoulder.

"I guess he didn't like Venisha's critiquing." Leila smiles but we both know it's not genuine.

Haymitch storms off to his room and William sits with us until it's time for dinner.

Dinner is very awkward. We're all tired from today and the only one who seems interested in talking is Venisha. She chatters on about our interviews for a good half hour until Reynald tells her, quite rudely, to stop. The rest of dinner is pin drop silent.

Reynald leaves the moment the Avoxes bring our plates away. I hear the front door close and guess that he's going to visit the other mentors. Venisha leaves the floor as well, probably to see some of her Capitol friends. She tells us we can all stay in the living room together for a while if we'd like.

The four of us sit in the living room together. It's painfully obvious that Haymitch is sitting as far away as he can from the rest of us.

William looks over at him. "Are you sure you don't want to ally with us?"

He doesn't even bother to look up. "Yes."

We exchange a glance. Although I really don't want to ally with Haymitch, I do want to know why he doesn't seem to want any. "We could all help each other. You know, protect each other. It would also be easier for Reynald if all of us were together. He could send us sponsor gifts at once."

Haymitch meets my eyes and scoffs. "You sound like you think we stand a chance at all. I don't think we'll be getting much sponsors."

"Reynald will help us," Leila speaks up, although she doesn't sound too confident.

"Reynald will never help us. We don't stand a chance at winning with him for a mentor. I bet we'll all die at the Cornucopia." Haymitch spits and Leila bursts into tears once again. William gives Haymitch a look and threads his hand through Leila's hair, murmuring quietly to her. The older-sibling action seems to calm her and I wonder if he did the same thing to his little sisters as well.

Haymitch watches William comfort Leila. "We're doomed, you guys know that. Don't bother comforting her. We'll be dead soon anyway."

"Shut up," I shout, startling everyone in the room including myself, but I'm so angry I can't think straight. "What is _wrong _with you Haymitch? She's just twelve."

"Come on, I'm just telling her the truth," he says venomously, "We're all going to _die_. No one here even has a _chance_ of winning, I hope you said goodbye to your families." He says this in his usual snarky, arrogant tone but I notice that he's started to shake again.

Leila sobs softly, her hand pressed against her mouth in an effort to muffle the sound.

"Stop!" I cry. "Why do you have to be so negative? Just because you've given up doesn't mean we should too!" The words are harsh but I'm too angry to regret them just yet.

Haymitch's eyes widen and harden at the same time. "You don't know anything about me." His hands clench into shaking fists and he looks down angrily. "Hold your tongue."

"Haymitch, stop it." William's voice is low as if he's trying to not to yell himself.

"Whatever," Haymitch says, his breath hitching strangely. As though he's holding his breath. "You guys are hopeless. I'm going to bed." With that he gets up from his chair and walks briskly to his room. I see his hand jump to grasp his chest before he slams his door shut.

Still glaring at the direction of Haymitch's room, I turn back to Leila who has curled up in a little ball on the couch, sobbing her eyes out.

"It's okay Leila, we'll be alright, I promise you."

She looks at me with her big green eyes and I want to curse Haymitch for scaring her.

"He's right," she whispers, "I don't have a chance." My heart breaks. This poor little girl doesn't deserve this. I look over at William who seems to be thinking along the same lines as I am. He sees the tears in my eyes and grabs my hand.

"Don't say that Leila," he says, "We're all going to get through this." He's lying, I know he is, but the words seem to comfort her anyway.

"He's right," I say, my voice shaking. "We'll all protect each other."

"I'm not of any use," Leila whispers. "You should just leave me at the Bloodbath."

I gasp. "Don't say that. We'll never do that."

"Of course, we won't," William adds, his soft voice taking a stern tone. "We're all in this together. Our allies will help us and we'll keep going for as long as we can."

Leila smiles a watery smile and pillows her head on her arms. William and I watch her until she falls asleep.

"Poor Leila," William says as he lifts her, quite easily, and places her on the couch next to ours. He sits next to me and takes my hand. "This isn't fair."

Tears fall from my eyes. "I know."

He's crying a little too. "I keep looking at her and seeing one of my sisters. And I keep thinking of—" he breaks off abruptly, turning away from me.

"Hey," I say softly, moving so he's facing me. "What is it?"

William takes a deep breath, "I had a brother named Rye. He was reaped four years ago. When he died, my whole family fell apart." He stops, unable to go on.

Suddenly, the overly strong reactions his family had to his reaping makes sense. My heart breaks for him. "Oh, William."

"It was the worst thing that's ever happened to me. He would have been 19 this year." His hands fingers his other arm, almost subconsciously.

I realize something. My hand brushes the same arm he was just touching. "That's how you got the scar." I'm not sure how it happened but I know I'm right.

"Yeah," he says, "A peacekeeper was laughing when he died, saying his death was inevitable. I just couldn't take it, I ran at him, got a few punches in too. I _loved _my brother, he was my idol, and he was dead."

He stops and looks down. I give him a hug, "I'm so sorry."

"I just don't know how my family will handle all this. My parents were so broken after Rye died. That's why I needed to take tesserae."

I think of Leila, who also had to take tessarae and realize how lucky I am to have parents who forbid me and Maylene from taking it. It didn't work, since I still ended up here but at least I'm not on the younger side of tributes like Leila is.

"This whole thing is messed up," I sigh. "I hate it."

"Me too."

We sit in silence for a while, taking comfort in the other's company. When I look out the window, I see that the moon is already up in the sky, the stars sparkling in the moonlight outside.

William follows my gaze. "Think we should get to bed?"

"Yeah," I say softly. I glance over at Leila's sleeping form.

"I'll bring her to her room."

"Okay. Goodnight."

He smiles softly. "Goodnight."

William heads to Leila's room. I head to mine but pause as I pass Haymitch's. The anger I felt at him before raises. He needs to know that what he did was wrong.

"Haymitch! I call, pounding on the door, ready to give him a piece of my mind. "Open the door, we need to talk!" There's no answer. "What you did to Leila was wrong!" I turn around angrily, thinking that he might have gone to bed when I hear something. There is a noise that sounds like gasping. I turn back around to face the door. "Haymitch?"

"Go _away_!"

"No! We need to talk. You can't just say those kinds of things to kids!"

"Please just go away!"

I frown, the use of the word please strikes me as odd. "Are you okay?"

"Leave me _alone_!" His voice is strained, almost as if he is in pain. Dismissing privacy, I force open the door and walk in.

Haymitch is pacing the floor and turns away the moment I come in, "Maysilee, go away."

I take a step towards him and he backs away. "What's wrong?" I ask.

"I just need a minute, _okay_." He says angrily.

"But—"

"I _said_, leave me _alone_!" He whirls around and I see his face. He's flushed and his hands are trembling even worse than before. They grasp at his chest like bugs are crawling under his skin. He glares at me angrily but I can see a spark of fear there.

"What happened to you?" I ask, now more concerned than angry.

His face twists and he clenches his eyes shut. He turns away. "I need a minute, just go away."

"Are you sure you're alright?" I ask. W_hat is wrong with him?_

"I'm _fine_. Why can't you just leave me _alone_?" His voice trembles, sounding so unlike the arrogant boy I've known these past few days.

"Haymitch," I say softly, feeling my anger melt away. "Haymitch, what's wrong."

He meets my eyes shakily. "It's too much."

"What's too much?" I ask quietly, already knowing what his answer will be.

"_This_," he gestures around the room, "The Capitol, the Hunger Games," his hands jump back to his chest, "blood and death and—" He cuts off and takes another deep breath, then another. "I can't do this anymore." He sits heavily on his bed, gasping, "I can't do this. It's too much. It's too much." He starts to tremble.

For a moment I'm too stunned to do or say anything. This bout of panic seems to have come from nowhere but I can guess that it has been building for a long time now. How could the strong, snarky, indifferent boy from before be so broken on the inside?

"I can't breathe," he gasps, clutching at his chest with shaking hands, "I can't breathe."

_He's literally hyperventilating, how can he not breathe? _Then I remember.

Once, maybe two or three years ago, I was staying over at Iris's house for a few hours while Maylene had a shift at our candy store. We were at the dining table when the door burst open. Two men were dragging a third inside, shouting for help. The one who was being dragged was gasping and shaking. He kept saying that he couldn't breathe. I thought that maybe he was having a heart attack but Iris had immediately rushed to the man's side and was able to calm him down. I still don't know exactly what happened to that man, but whatever had happened to him was definitely what was happening to Haymitch right now.

"Haymitch," I say, sitting down next to him, "You're okay." I try to mirror Iris's calm voice. "Everything is going to be alright."

I'm going to die," he says, either not able to hear me or ignoring me. He starts to shake even more violently, "We're all going to die."

For a moment, I pause, because he's right. 47 of us tributes will be dead within the next two weeks. But I know that that isn't the answer he needs.

"You'll get through this," I say. "We're going to be fine." I hope he doesn't see through my obvious lie.

He drives his palms into his forehead and starts to gasp so loudly it sounds as though he's choking. I feel myself start to panic as well.

His hands fall back to his chest and without thinking, I grab at them. "Haymitch!"

"Let go!" He jumps up, backing away from me until he hits the opposite wall. There, he slides down until he's on his knees with his hands braced in front of him, his breathing becoming more and more erratic.

I bite my lip, trying to remember what Iris had done to help that man. I'm contemplating calling for Reynald or Venisha but they are both out and probably wouldn't comfort him at all. Then, I think to call an Avox but Haymitch seems so unstable, I don't think I should leave him alone. Instead, I force down my own panic and walk over to him quietly.

"Haymitch," I say, sitting next to him. "No one is going to hurt you, you're okay." I frown. I don't want to lie to him but our reality isn't very comforting. "You're safe now. We're all safe. You can get through this."

"It's too much," he says quietly and I can hear the effort it must've taken him to say the words.

"We're safe," I repeat. "Just try and take a deep breath."

I take an exaggerated breath and listen as he copies me. This goes on for a few minutes. He isn't hyperventilating anymore but he's still shaking almost uncontrollably.

"Tell me something," I say, trying to distract him from whatever he's going through. "Tell me something about District 12." I think about his brother at the Reaping. "Tell me about your family."

"My brother's name is Hayden." The words are strained and shaky but at least they're there. "He's 13. He's caring and sympathetic. He has a sweet tooth and would have loved the hot chocolate here. He wants to be a teacher when he grows up."

"What else?"

He takes another deep breath. "My girlfriend's name is Serena." I remember the girl who cried when he got picked and can't believe that he's telling me all this. He'll probably regret it tomorrow. "She lives with her cousins. She's kind and sympathetic. She hates it when people are in pain. She gave me my token."

I look around for it before realizing his stylist probably took it this morning the same way Maximus took mine. "What is it?"

"A ring. It's been in her family for generations. She made me promise I'd come back to her..." He trails off, probably realizing that I'd have to die for him to see his girlfriend again.

An awkward silence hangs over us.

I notice that he's stopped shaking. Instead, he's staring off into the distance. "Feel better?"

His hands clench into fists. Maybe he's embarrassed. "Yes."

"Has this happened before?" I ask softly.

"Yeah," he murmurs, not meeting my eyes, "but never this bad. I guess everything just caught up to me."

"That seemed pretty scary."

He shrugs. "I guess. It's happened a lot before. It was worse today."

I frown. It freaked me out to see him like that, especially since he's usually so collected about everything. It must be awful for him. "Have they been getting worse?"

He bites his lip. " because of the games but also because—" he breaks off, turning away from me.

"Also because what?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

He sighs, "This happened a lot after my dad died too. Everything was just too much for me to handle. Sometimes, I would just lock myself in my room until I felt like I could breathe again. I would be in there for hours on end."

The amount of sympathy I feel is overwhelming, "That must have been really hard for you."

"It was," he says flatly, turning back to face me, "I became the head of my family overnight. My brother was only nine and my mom was heartbroken. She didn't do anything. She wouldn't cook, she wouldn't talk, on some days she wouldn't even move. She just stayed in bed, doing nothing. All day."

"That sounds horrible."

"It was," he says again. There's silence before he adds, "You didn't have to help me."

"Of course, I did. I wasn't just going to leave you by yourself."

"You should've. I've been awful to you guys. You first came here to yell at me, didn't you?"

I avoid the question. "Why do you act so arrogant all the time?"

He looks down. "It keeps people away and it hides how I really feel. I don't want to get close to people, not now. We'll just end up losing each other, one way or another. Being arrogant and snarky like that makes it so no one wants to get too close. I guess some of it is real but most of it isn't. I hope. I don't know what to believe anymore."

"Oh," I say. I'm learning so much about so many people today.

He stands up. "I'm fine now. I'm sorry you had to see me like that."

"Don't be sorry," I say, "No one should have to deal with those kinds of things alone."

He ignores me, "And I'm really sorry for what I said to Leila. She doesn't deserve it. I'll apologize tomorrow."

"Okay," I say, because what he said to Leila was still wrong. "Try and get some sleep, alright?"

He glances towards his bed. "I don't know. I'm too awake to sleep now. But I'll try."

"Okay." Not knowing what else to do, I head to the door. I stifle a yawn. I really am exhausted.

"Maysilee?"

I turn around. "Yes?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Goodnight."

I turn the door knob. "Goodnight."

As I head to bed, my mind is spinning. I've learned so much about all my fellow District 12 tributes today. I've learned about so many hidden sides to them, I can't help but wonder if anyone is truly as they seem.

* * *

**I'm pretty happy with this chapter and how it turned out. This is my longest chapter yet. I hope everything, especially the whole panic attack scene was realistic.**

**I know Haymitch is always tough and doesn't seem to care about anything. Especially in other fanfics. But I always thought of Haymitch as someone who hides any sign of weakness with arrogance. I also wanted to show the physiological effect that the Games have on the tributes even before they start. What do you guys think about this new version of Haymitch's character?**


	12. Interviews

**Chapter 12: Interviews**

Haymitch Abernathy

The stars are fading away to reveal the semi-brightness of early morning. And I'm still laying in bed, forcing my eyes shut, trying to get in a few hours of precious sleep that I know will be hard to come by in the Arena.

The Arena. Ever since my nervous breakdown yesterday, it's all I can think of. Since I got reaped, I forced myself not to think about it for too long, but I've already broken down, so there's no harm in obsessing over my fate now.

My face burns of embarrassment when I think of how I broke down yesterday. And everything I've revealed. All those secrets of mine and the reasons I act the way I do. Everything I love about my family and how I had to take care of everything after my dad died. Now it's all out in the open.

For years, I've hidden away signs of weakness, because when you're the backbone of your family, you can't show them how afraid you are. And now everyone knows that I'm just like the other tributes: scared and just a piece in these Games.

Well not everyone knows. Just Maysilee. She knows so much about me now, it's uncomfortable. The only other person who knows that much is Serena. I hope that she is trustworthy enough to keep it a secret. She did help me after all.

I don't know how to feel about that. I'm not used to people helping me. Especially not someone who I thought hated me. But she was able to calm me down even when I thought I was dying. I'm grateful. That's another feeling I'm not used to.

I sigh and turn to my other side to check the time. 3 AM. With a small groan, I pull off my blankets and stand. There's no point in trying to get any sleep. Waves of nervousness mixed with terror are still crashing into me randomly and I'm permanently on edge, as though I've drunken loads of coffee. That's how I normally feel after I break down like that. I'm not sure why it happens but they only stated after my dad died. I guess becoming the parent figure to your brother and mom as a 12-year-old has some side effects.

Yesterday was a pretty awful day where I'm concerned. Preparing for the interviews was dumb and irritating and everything after was just a nightmare. I could slap myself for all the horrible things I said to Leila. Just the thought of someone saying those things to Hayden makes me boil with anger. I make a note to myself to swallow up my pride and apologize. Who knows if I'll get the chance tomorrow.

My stomach growls loudly, reminding me that I barely ate anything at dinner yesterday. I had had knots in my stomach and my head had been spinning, basically ensuring that I was only able to get a few mouthfuls of food in. Even those I had to force down with water. No wonder I'm starving.

I'm almost certain that no one on our floor is awake now so I decide to head to the dining compartment to scrape together a meal. For a moment, I think of the Avoxes. _Where do they sleep?_ Do they even sleep? Or is their only purpose to serve us? That sounds like a horrible life. I can get a meal by myself. There's no need to bother anyone else.

There's bread and a jar of jam, along with a butter knife, on the counter and I don't think much of it as I pull together a sandwich, squinting in the near darkness. The sight of the jam annoyingly still reminds me of blood. Which in turn reminds me of the Games. I think of all my opponents and all the kids who will have to die if I'm to see my family again. A sudden and loud cough makes me freeze.

Without thinking, I grab the butter knife from the counter and fling it as I turn around, my nerves tingling. My target swears loudly and I watch as Reynald catches the jam covered knife in his hand.

"Excuse me?" he growls.

My mind wants to laugh and cower away at the same time. "Sorry," I say. "I thought you were someone else."

"And who else would possibly be awake at a time like this?" he asks, dropping the knife back on the counter with a clang. His other hand sets down a full, unopened bottle of wine.

"I was hoping no one," I say, frowning. I had been so lost in my thoughts about the Games, I had immediately assumed that whoever was behind me was a tribute. "I wasn't expecting you to be here."

He glares at me and I'm forcefully reminded of everything that happened between us yesterday. "Why are you awake. Don't you know that you need your sleep?"

"Why do you care all of a sudden?" I ask, knowing that I'm baiting him but not really caring. "The last time I checked, you thought we would all die for sure. Probably get blown up or something." My voice takes on an edge on the last bit.

Reynald sighs, leaning against the counter. "You guys show some promise. Not all Bloodbaths for sure. Maybe you guys can last the first couple of days."

"Wow," I say sarcastically. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"I'm being serious," he says. "I think I got myself some decent tributes after all."

I glance back at the full bottle between us. "Is that why you aren't drinking as much?"

"Well, I have to be at least somewhat sober if I want to help you guys. That and Venisha ordered the Avoxes not to give me any more drinks. The only ones I have left are ones I bought before coming here."

"What a disaster."

"You should appreciate that I'm making the effort. The last time I checked, you didn't seem to care to much about winning."

My free hand has wrapped into a fist. "You don't know anything about me."

He rolls his eyes. "I know. But I can tell now that I was wrong. I can see it in your eyes. You want to go home. Badly."

"I think all 48 of us do."

"I hope it's one of you four that do." His eyes drop to the hand carrying my jam sandwich. "What's that?"

I bite into it. "I didn't eat much dinner. I was hungry."

He scoffs but stays silent.

"If you're not drinking, why are you awake?"

He smirks. "I had two bottles." And then he's gone, heading back to his room.

It takes me a bite into my sandwich until I understand what he means. I sigh, he may be helping us a little but I should have realized that he wouldn't give up drinking that easily.

I'm heading back to my room when I suddenly remember everything that I said to Leila. My anger doesn't excuse how badly I treated her. I pass my room and head to where I know her's is. I may not want to apologize and confess to my mistakes but I know that the little girl deserves better. She should not have had to hear that.

I pause at her door. She's probably asleep. I could always talk to her in the morning. She'll need her sleep now to last her tomorrow.

The sound of a cry, followed by sniffles makes me stop. All I can imagine is Hayden going through the same pain as her. I'm so grateful that Hayden and Selena weren't reaped. They wouldn't last a day in the Arena. Another tiny sob from her door makes me stomach twist.

I gather up my nerves and knock softly on the door. The crying stops at once.

"Leila?" I whisper. "It's Haymitch. Is it alright if I come in?"

For a few moments, it's silent. She's probably wondering why I'm even trying to talk to her. I can hear the confusion in her voice when she says "Okay."

I open the door and see Leila sitting on her bed, hugging her knees to her chest with her blanket wrapped around her. She looks up at me and I see the confusion in her eyes. And something else. I want to kick myself when I realize that it's fear.

"Are you okay?" I ask, coming to stand in front of her.

Leila shrugs. "I just had a nightmare."

The words come out of my mouth before I can stop them. "I have nightmares too."

She looks up at me and I feel my cheeks flush. "You do?"

"Well, I guess everyone does. But I would say I have a lot more."

"But you seem so tough all the time. Sort of like nothing ever bothers you."

Now it's my turn to shrug awkwardly. "I guess I'm good at acting like that."

"Acting?"

"A lot of things bother me," I say, not even knowing why I'm telling her that. I guess she deserves a little of the truth after everything I did. "I just don't like to show it."

"Oh."

"What was your nightmare about?"

She shifts awkwardly. "It's silly. It doesn't matter."

I frown. "I'm sure it's not silly."

More shifting. "It was about the mines. They exploded. My dad was screaming and I couldn't help him."

I freeze. For a moment, I feel like the world is closing in on me again. I dig my nails into my palms and force myself to stay calm. The amount of pity I feel for her helps with that.

After that coal mining accident, I had nightmares everyday for at least a year. Hayden did as well. Now they've dwindled down to once a week or so, but it is still the most frequent of my nightmares.

My dad was the only one who had died in that accident. Everyone else considered it lucky. Only one death. All the other workers were alive. I remember burning with jealousy. I had lost my dad, my whole family was breaking, and they were fine? I never thought of the men who were fatally injured, like Leila's dad. I know that with an injury like his, he wasn't living a normal life. In a way, his fate is even worse than my dad's.

"Haymitch?"

I notice that I've been silent for a while now. "That's what my nightmares are usually about too."

Her next words are quiet. "I'm sorry about your dad."

Invisible fingers threaten to squeeze my lungs. "It's okay," I mumble. "Your dad suffered too."

She's quiet for a moment. "I'm sure he doesn't even know I'm here."

My head snaps up. "What?"

By the time Leila's done telling me about her dad and how he lives now, I'm overwhelmed with sympathy. And guilt.

"I'm really sorry," I say. "I should have never said all those horrible things yesterday. I was stressed and scared but that doesn't excuse what I did. I really am sorry."

The ghost of a smile covers her face. It doesn't belong there, not while we are still here. "I understand. I forgive you."

"I really shouldn't have said those things." I decide to give her a little more of the truth. "I think we all have a shot in these Games."

She frowns. "You're just saying that to be nice."

"No, I'm not." I say hurriedly. "Reynald has been drinking less. He may actually help us."

She looks up. "Really?"

"Yes. And don't count yourself out. Your training score was pretty good for someone so small."

That ghost of a smile returns. "Thanks. You should have seen yours though."

"We'll all last for a while. You've got Maysilee and William with you."

"They're great. I know they'll protect me."

I nod, telling myself not to regret the fact that I didn't make allies. I don't need them. I'll do better alone. I know that it's true but I can't help but think of Jack and Rowan. Of how the only ones they'll have in the Arena is each other.

"Goodnight, Haymitch." Leila says, yawning. "Thanks for stopping by."

"No problem. I'm glad you forgave me."

"We don't have time to hold grudges anyway."

I bite my lip. _Why is such a mature but innocent girl stuck here? _"Goodnight."

The sun has already started to rise but I force myself to sleep anyway. I'll be needing those few hours tomorrow.

Maysilee Donner

"Haymitch apologized to me this morning," Leila says, walking up behind me as we head to breakfast. "For what he said yesterday."

I frown. I guess he really can be nice. Especially after what happened. "Really? When?"

"Really early. He even said that he thinks Reynald will try to help the four of us in the Arena."

"Wow," I say, not knowing if I should believe those words. They seem too good to be true to me. I wonder if Haymitch lied to her to keep her spirits up. He seems trustworthy but I really don't believe that Reynald will help us. "That's great."

Me and Leila are the last ones at the table. William and Haymitch have already started eating. They both look much better than they did yesterday. Reynald has a glass of water next to him and I can only hope that Leila's words are true.

Venisha waves at us. "Finally! Come sit down." We take a seat and I spot our 4 stylists sitting at the end of the table, along with 12 others. I recognize 3 of them as my prep team and decide that the other 9 belong to William, Leila, and Haymitch. "Tonight is the interviews so your stylists and prep team are going to be spending the day with us!"

I inwardly groan. That means grueling hours of Hestia forcing me to act like a proper lady. Celestavia smiles at me and I smile back.

"William," I nudge the boy beside me. "Are you nervous for tonight?"

He doesn't look up. "Yeah, I guess."

I frown. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

I pause. _Why is he acting so cold all of a sudden? _William is the kindest person I know.

I turn to him again but he's already picked up a conversation with Leila. I guess that he's probably just nervous for tomorrow. I'm sure we all are.

Instead of worrying, I eat as much as my stomach can hold. I've watched far too many District 12 tributes die of starvation. Iris had told me once that with the proper food beforehand, you can survive for three weeks without any kind of food. The Games don't usually last that long but I remember a previous Game that lasted for a month. I wonder how luxurious it must be to have enough food everyday that you would have enough in store to last for three weeks.

"You four are going to start getting prepped at noon." Reynald says. "You're free until then." Breakfast is wrapped up shortly after.

Haymitch heads back in the direction of our rooms but stops beside me.

"Thank you." he murmurs before disappearing into his room. _That was odd._

Haymitch isn't the only one acting strange. While our stylists and prep teams head off, most likely to prepare for later today, William, Leila, and I head to the living room. William is still oddly refusing not to meet my eyes directly and avoids answering my questions. Leila doesn't seem to notice but I do.

I get my chance to question him when Leila goes to get a snack.

"Why are you acting so weird?" I ask.

He waits for a moment and shifts uncomfortably before saying, "I saw you come out of Haymitch's room last night."

My mouth drops open. "What?"

"I noticed that you didn't go to your room and I decided to wait for you. I saw you come out of his."

I have no idea what he's talking about . "What does that have to do with anything?"

His eyes are on the floor. "Do I look dumb to you?"

"Oh," I say softly. He's jealous. He must have thought that something had happened between us.

"It's nothing like that," I say hurriedly. "At first, I went to go yell at him about what he said to Leila, but after—" I break off. I trust William more than anyone else here but I still don't think that it's right to tell him about Haymitch's breakdown. It seems like the sort of thing that I should keep private. "I told him that it was wrong and he apologized. He even apologized to Leila this morning." William still doesn't look at me. I take his hand. "Nothing happened. I promise?"

He looks up. "Really?"

"Really."

"So nothing happened?"

"Nope. But it turns out that he isn't as mean as he seems. He felt really bad about it. His bark is worse than his bite."

William looks bashful. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gotten jealous like that. It's just that—" he frowns. "Never mind."

"What is it?" I ask.

He bites his lip and blurts out something I don't understand.

"What?"

"I like you," he says quickly. "I really, really like you. And I know that now isn't the best time to tell you that but I thought you should know." His voice fades away. "I've liked you for years."

I'm only vaguely aware that my mouth has all but dropped open in shock. _William, my crush since basically forever, like me back? _In any other world, I would be ecstatic. I guess I should have noticed the signs. We've been getting so close but I just guessed that William was just being his typical self: sweet, charming, and kind. I never thought that my crush would return the feelings.

"Maysilee," he says quietly. I realize that I've been quiet for a while. "Say something, please."

"Oh, William!" I give him a huge hug. "I like you too. I never thought that you'd feel the same way."

He hugs me back. "Of course, I do. You're amazing."

I'm almost giddy with joy. He kisses my cheek softly.

"I should have told you before."

"At least I know now."

We spring apart when we hear Leila squeal behind us. "Oh, you two are so cute!"

"Leila!" I cry. I stammer for an excuse but she brushes me off.

"I wanted you guys to be together since we all first met. It's so obvious that you guys like each other!" She beams and bounces into the chair next to ours.

The next two hours are some of the funnest. We all manage not to discuss the Games—we already have a basic plan for the Bloodbath—and talk about everything else instead. William kisses my cheek every so often and each time makes me want to smile until my face splits open. It seems too soon when our prep teams come in to shoo us back into our rooms.

"Where's Maximus?" I ask, squinting as the three of them cover my face in makeup.

"He's coming." Celestavia smiles. "He and the others have to finish up your outfit for tonight."

The three of them chatter about the interviews as they prep me and I find myself getting more and more nervous. _What was my angle again? _Oh yes, humble and polite. I think I can handle that. I'm so lost in thought that I don't even remember to be cross with Hestia. They aren't doing as much as they did for our chariot rides though. It's mostly just makeup. I spot a lot of pinks and a few yellows and guess that we are going for a sweet girl kind of look. It works well with my long blonde hair, which they've tied into a wavy side braid. When Maximus comes in, I see that my dress is a soft lilac colour.

I gasp as he puts it on me. "Wow, it's beautiful."

Maximus smiles and my prep team cheers in adoration. "I'm glad you like it."

"It's much better than my outfit for the chariot ride."

"Yes, well that had to suit your district. This is much more personalized."

"I really like it." Celestavia slips some high heels onto my feet and I immediately wobble and almost fall over. "How am I going to walk in these?"

"Don't worry," Maximus says. "You'll do fine. Are you ready for your interview?"

"Mostly. I really want to make a good impression."

"You have a great personality. Just be as sweet and polite as possible. Try and show that there's a fighter in you as well."

"Okay."

We meet up with the others at the elevators. I see Haymitch first but that's probably because he's standing away from the door. He's wearing a black suit and gives what I think is a little smile when he sees me. William, dressed handsomely in a blue suit, gives me a grin and Leila, who's wearing a long pink dress, keeps brushing her fingers over the flowers in her hair. I wonder if she's ever worn something so beautiful in her life. I know I haven't.

A minute later, William grasps my hand as we move to take our seats on the stage in front of the Training Center. Leila, who's going first, sits on my left and William sits on my right. I frown. I'll have to hear 45 interviews before I can get mine over with. The only good side is that they are shorter, only a minute and a half, so I won't have to be on the stage for too long.

William tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear. "Nervous?"

"Very. We have to make a good impression if we want sponsors."

"They'll love you, I'm sure."

Hearing all of the Career's interviews makes me queasy. All of them, especially Shimmer, sound so blood thirsty and sadistic. Two of the tributes from District 2, Gloria and Xavier, spend half their interviews talking about all the weapons they use. Shimmer, who I can tell is going for sexy but deadly, talks about how she can't wait to draw blood in the Games and she wants to feel it run through her hands. I have to dig my nails into my palms so I don't throw up all over the floor.

The rest of the interviews are mostly the same, except for a few other disturbing ones, and I find myself zoning out, preparing for my own interview instead of listening. But I get the main idea. Caesar, the host, asks about their life back home, their time in the Capitol so far, their training score, and their reaping. Those seem like fairly simple questions to answer. As long as I'm not put on the spot.

I find myself hoping that going close to last will help the Capitol citizens remember us. Most of the tributes are playing the same angles: either blood thirsty, sweet, or smart that I think most Capitol citizens will just forget about us unless we can stand out.

It's now that I realize just how many younger kids are in the Games this year. The thought of all these little kids dead tomorrow makes me want to cry. I manage to tune back in for Mazie's interview. She seems to be going for the same sweet angle that Leila is playing up. She's wearing a pretty peach shirt and shimmering grey leggings. A band of pearls are woven through her red hair, making her face look even younger. Caesar asks her how she feels about being in the Arena with her brother and she tears up, saying that she knows that he will do whatever it takes to protect her. Miller spends his entire 90 seconds backing up that claim.

Ana's angle has her portrayed as a lot more deadly as I would have liked and it really makes me wonder how she got that 9. Hopefully she's just trying to act more deadly to get us some more sponsors. It seems like a smart enough move.

It's Leila's turn before I know it and she squeezes my hand hard before walking over to Caesar.

"Hello, Leila," he greets as she sits down. "What a lovely dress you're wearing."

She smiles shyly. "Thank you very much."

"How are you liking the Capitol so far?"

"It's nice. Everything is so fancy here."

The audience sighs, looking at this little girl in front of them. If only they actually felt bad enough to cancel the Games.

"So, how are you feeling for tomorrow?"

I watch as she works her mouth, probably trying to mix innocent but not completely helpless together.

"I'm nervous. But I have a plan and I'm going to stick to it."

"Who have you got back home cheering you on?"

"My parents. And some friends as well."

"Did they visit you after you got reaped?"

"Yes. My mom did. My two best friends came too."

"And what about your dad?"

Leila pauses and her next words are quieter. "He's very sick and couldn't come." She lifts her head to face one of the cameras. "Daddy, if you're watching this right now, I love you. And Mommy, I'm still your little girl."

The crowd sniffs and some people wipe away tears. I feel my own tears welling in my eyes. Oh how I wish we could all be home right now.

A tear slips out of Leila's eye as she sits back down next to me. I give her an encouraging smile. "That was really good."

Then, they're calling my name and I'm walking to the stage, my mind screaming at me not to trip in my huge heels.

I make it to the seat all right and Caesar introduces me to the crowd.

"So, Maysilee, I think we all saw those two girls holding you at the reaping. Who are they?" I freeze. The first question is about Maylene and Iris? I don't want the Capitol knowing about the two people I love most in this world. "They seemed quite close to you."

"Yes," I say. "It was my twin sister, Maylene, and Iris, my best friend."

The audience sighs with sympathy and even Caesar joins them. "Wow, your twin. No wonder you both look so alike. Did you see her after the reaping?"

I remember to be polite and quietly respond with a yes.

"And what did she say to you?"

"She and my best friend told me to try and win."

"What did you tell them?"

I stare into the crowd. "I promised I wouldn't go down without a fight."

The mood has dropped a bit and I can see Caesar trying to lift it back up. "And how do you like the Capitol?"

I hear Reynald in my head telling me to be polite. "It's quite nice here. You guys sure do work hard making everything so nice for us tributes."

That helps win over the crowd.

"Why thank you. And that score, a 7. Quite an impressive score for someone like you."

Someone like me? I guess he means that I don't look threatening at all, with my slight figure and soft eyes.

Be humble. "Yes, I'm quite glad with such a good score. I hope it can help me in the Arena."

"Best of luck to you." he says as the buzzer goes off, signalling that my interview is over. I sigh discreetly and thank him before making my way back to my seat. William has just enough time to give me a reassuring smile and a thumbs up before they're calling him.

William does great in his interview. He's kind and relatable, saying just the right things to get the audience laughing and smiling. He talks about his sisters and how he hopes that they are doing alright.

About half way into his interview, Caesar says something that changes the entire mood of his interview. "Now I know you had a brother in these Games a few years ago."

William's face goes pale instantly, turning almost white. I feel a rush of anger directed at Caesar. Sure, he was helpful and is probably better than the rest of the Capitol's citizens, but doesn't he know that it's a bad idea to bring up someone's dead sibling? Especially one that died because of the Games. Some of the Capitol citizens murmur to each other, no doubt trying to remember a random tribute from a Game four years ago. Just another forgotten District face.

As William struggles to speak, I notice Haymitch beside me looking confused. Then I remember that his dad died the same year that William's brother did. He must not have really watched the Games that year.

Back on the stage, William chokes out a faint yes and I want nothing more than to rush up there and give him a huge hug.

"How does your family feel about you being in the Games now?"

"They're devastated," he says flatly, all of his kindness wiped away by the mention of his brother. "They don't want me to meet the same fate as him.

"And how do you feel?"

William pauses and finally says: "I want to show them that they can be proud of me." It isn't a straight answer but is a good way to dodge the question. I'm not sure if the Capitol understands his words the way I do. He wants to die in a way that's true to him. That's what will make him proud.

"Well, I'm sure they're very proud."

The buzzer goes off and William thanks Caesar quietly. His hand trembles and I place mine over it, giving him a squeeze.

"Are you okay?" I ask as Haymitch starts up the last interview of the day.

He's still pale. "Yeah. I just wasn't expecting that."

Back on the stage, it's clear that Haymitch has taken a different route than the other three of us. Instead of polite and nice, he's snarky and arrogant, making snide remarks that I know would get him whipped if we were back in 12. Here they've already given him the worst punishment: the Games. What else can they do now?

"So, Haymitch, what do you think about the Hunger Games having 100% more competitors than usual?"

He smirks. "Well, they'll still be 100% stupid as usual, so I figured that my odds will be roughly the same."

I raise my eyebrows as the Capitol laughs. This is the boy that I saw before yesterday. It's weird now that I know that most of what I'm seeing now is fake.

When the interviews are finally over, we all head back up the elevators. I feel oddly shaky, like I've just realized how close the Games are. William and I are almost clinging to each other as we reach our floor. I take extra care not to make eye contact with any other tributes.

Through dinner, I try to not think of what tomorrow will bring. What will the Arena look like? Why haven't I thought of that before? Everything seems to be catching up to me way too fast, I almost understand why Haymitch broke down yesterday.

The four of us tributes aren't talking. We are all much too nervous. Venisha and the Stylists talk about how great we were and after dinner we all watch a recap of the interviews. I look much more confident than I felt and hope that me and my five allies will together scrape up some sponsors.

All too soon, Reynald is telling us to get some sleep. The Stylists all hug us but we are sure to see them tomorrow morning, so any parting words are saved for then. Venisha hugs the four of us as well and it's a mark of how out of it we all are that we all accept it.

"Good luck, you guys," she smiles. "I've enjoyed working with you four. Maybe I'll see one of you guys again."

I almost can't believe that she isn't more emotional. Has being an escort for so long really made her immune to the killings in these Games? The fact that she may never see any of us again?

Reynald gives some more helpful advice.

"When the gong goes, grab something nearby if you can: a backpack or a knife. If not, just run. Group of with any allies and try to wait it out. You'll stand more of a chance when the competition dwindles down. I'll try and send in some stuff for you guys. Remember, water and shelter are your top priority. Don't go into fights unless you have to. Good luck."

Haymitch heads straight to his room but the three of us linger. I hug Leila and William and we all give each other well wishes, telling one another of how much we loved getting to know them. We promise to all make it out of the Bloodbath with Mazie, Miller, and Ana. I'll try to grab a backpack or something of use, William will try and get some sort of bag or weapon, and Leila will find Mazie and the others.

William gives me a soft kiss on the lips. I find myself savouring it. My first real kiss. I don't want to leave him but force myself to head to my room while he goes to his.

I stay awake for a long time after that, my mind working too hard to relax. Eventually I sleep into the land of sleep, my dreams tainted with the thought of death and chaos that is sure to greet me tomorrow.

* * *

**One more chapter until the Games officially begin! I wanted to add a little something to the end. A conversation between Haymitch and Maysilee, but this chapter was already almost 6K words long and I decided that it wasn't necessary. I'm going to try and get the next chapter up within the next few days as it's probably going to be much shorter as it's just the morning of the Games. I would love to get some reviews about your thoughts on what will happen in these Games. Hope you enjoyed!**


	13. This Is It

**Chapter 13: This Is It**

Haymitch Abernathy

I lean back until I'm laying down and breathe in the fresh air. Well as fresh as you can get. District 12 always smells of one of two things at any given time: suffocating, thick ash and dust, or the stench of death from the dead, emaciated bodies that you can find in basically any corner of the Seam.

The Capitol is not much better. The smells here are more foreign: powders from makeup that I can smell even here, aromas from extravagant food that I'll probably never taste, and pollution from cars which Capitol citizens have the luxury to use constantly. Suffocating, overwhelming, sickening.

Here, on the roof of the Training Center, most of the Capitol smells have been muted, although I can still see thousands of people parading through the streets. Double the tributes. An extra 24 kids headed to the Arena and most likely to their deaths. They must be ecstatic down there.

The roof is by far the best place I've been these past few days. There's a slight breeze and I can even see the stars. There are some flowers growing off to one side and there's open space in the other. But the best thing is the quiet.

I've never been much of a people person and being constantly surrounded by people has drained my energy. I look around at my surroundings and wonder if any of the other tributes have been up here yet. It'd be a pity to die without seeing this first and I'm glad that I decided to figure out what was on the roof. I'm almost certain that some of the other more involved mentors have brought their tributes up here. I know for a fact that none of my fellow District 12 tributes have been up here. I find myself hoping that no one joins me. It would be awkward running into someone whom I may need to kill.

Without my brain even realizing it, my legs have picked me up and walked me to the edge of the balcony. I stare out at the crowd below. _How can I kill just for the entertainment of these people? These vile, bloodthirsty, sadistic people._ My eyes dart to the ledge. _How can I win? How can I outlive 47 other kids?_

I think of Hayden, Serena, and my mom. _Would they understand if I can't do it? Could they live after my death? _The bars are cold under my hands. _How can I go to the Games?_

I want to win, I do. But I don't know how I could ever live with myself after. I don't want to end up like Reynald, or any of the other mentors I see on television every year. They get to live, but is their life after the Games really worth it? Right now, there are so many thoughts racing through my head that I don't even know what to do.

I've pulled myself up on the rail now, balancing over the edge. I pause, contemplating whether or not I really want to do this. In the Games I could die a gruesome death but here, I could die of my own accord.

I've just about decided to jump when a rock flies past my head, scraping against my ear. Surprised, I leap back, falling hard onto the floor. The rock somehow flies back and hits my arm where I've raised it to protect my face.

"You can't do that."

I scramble up, spinning around, my mind racing with comebacks and excuses. It turns out I shouldn't have bothered. In front of me is Reynald, a handful of rocks in his hands.

"What?" I stutter dumbly.

He chucks another rock at me and I jump out of the way. I watch, mystified, as the rock seems to pause about a foot after the rail and then changes direction and flies back, directly into Reynald's outstretched hand.

"There's a force field out there. You can't jump. You'll get shot straight back Probably breaking a couple of bones."

"I wasn't going to jump." I say defensively, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Then why were you up there?"

I frown, rolling my eyes. "I wasn't actually going to." _I think. _"How do you know that anyway?"

"Know what?"

"That there's a force field after the roof?"

He pauses, tossing another rock at the force field and catching it before he speaks. "You're not the first tribute I've found up there."

I get the feeling that he's hiding something but decide not to push it. At the moment, I'm more interested in something else. "So the force field repels things?"

"Quite forcefully."

"And it comes back directly to where the force came from?"

He sighs. "You sure do ask a lot of questions."

I shrug. "I'm curious." My mom always said that my mind took any good piece of information and ran with it. As a kid, I liked strategizing and discovering new things.

"Yes," he says finally, "it comes back almost exactly where you threw it from."

"That's interesting."

He tosses me a rock. "Try it."

I do and I have to hide my smile when the rock sails directly back into my hand.

"You should really sleep. You four will have to wake up early to get to the Arena on time."

I try hard to hide the sudden shaking of my legs. Of course. The Arena. He's right though. I should really be sleeping. I don't know how long I'll be able to go without sleep once I'm in the Games. Especially now that I have no way to escape them.

I meant to get a good night's sleep but when you know that you could die the next day, sleep is really hard to come by. I had decided to wander around our floor for a bit before wondering about the roof. And when I had got here, I really didn't want to leave. But I know that he's right.

"So this is the second time in a row that I've run into you during the early hours of the morning."

"Yes," I say awkwardly, "I guess it is."

There's a silence as Reynald stares me down. I stare right back.

"Why do you drink?" I ask, before I can chicken out. It's something I've wanted to know for a while. I know that Victors don't get the great life they're promised. But what could be so bad that all Reynald does is drown in drinks?

He frowns, his eyes darting around. "What do you mean?"

"Why do you drink?" I repeat, determined to get my answer. "What's so terrible about being a Victor?" Because if I know, I should rethink my plan to get out of these Games alive.

Reynald's silent for a few moments. Then, just when I think he isn't going to answer, he let's out a long, slow sigh. "It takes the pain away."

That was probably the last thing I expected him to say. "What—"

His face takes on a strange intensity. "Go off to bed."

Despite my desire to know what he means, I know he isn't going to tell me more. I turn to leave. "Any last bits of advice?"

The ghost of a smile crosses his face. "Stay alive."

I spin around and glare. "Excuse me?"

He shrugs again. "That's all you really have to do. Stay alive."

"Wow," I say sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "Thanks for the tip."

"Any time." His face turns serious and he walks out to look at the crowd that I was looking at just a while ago. "Good luck, Haymitch."

I take this as an exit to leave. "Thank you."

Leaving Reynald to his thoughts on the roof, I head back to my room, hoping to get a few hours of sleep.

It seems like I barely blink until Evangeline is waking me up.

"What?" I say, fear creeping up on me as I lean back into the bed. "It's time to go already?"

"I'm sorry, Haymitch," she says, handing me a simple white shirt and pants, "but we have to go now if we want to get there on time."

_But I don't want to get there on time. I don't want to go there at all. _

I swallow down a wave of nausea and force myself to get dressed. My hands shake the whole time and Evangeline has to help me into a pair of slippers. We head to the roof for the hovercraft to bring us to the Arena and I can only form one coherent thought out of the thousands that threaten to drown me.

_This is it._

Maysilee Donner

Maximus only succeeds in getting me to eat half a slice of toast, but I do force down two glasses of water. I'm shaking so hard that I probably look like I'm vibrating.

"I can't do this," I gasp, gnawing on my lip.

Maximus gives me a sympathetic smile. "You'll be alright. You got a good training score, your interview was good, and you have a good head on your shoulders."

"It's the Hunger Games," I whisper. "I may have to kill someone. I probably will."

He sighs softly. "I know it's hard. I've watched so many kids enter the Arena throughout my life. But I always wanted to be a stylist. I wanted to be a source of hope for you poor kids. I hate the idea of these Games and I hoped that my work could help bring a kid back home."

I can't help but give him a shaky smile. "I don't want to disappoint you."

He pats my hand. "You would never disappoint me. Just don't give up. You have spirit, Maysilee Donner, I believe in you."

This time, I accept the slice of toast he gives me. "Thanks."

We spend the rest of the ride to the Arena almost in silence, except for Maximus pointing out the brilliant view outside the window. I would enjoy it more if I wasn't so terrified of my future.

My mind is racing with thoughts, but for some reason I'm mainly thinking of people. Of those I love. Maylene and her outgoing, loving self. Iris and her gentle, healer hands. My parents with the candy shop and their love for each other. William, who likes me too. Leila and her innocence. Even others, like the five-year-old twins from the Seam I used to babysit. Even those from the Capitol, Celestavia and Maximus, who said he believes in me. I wonder how much these people will miss me. I wonder if I will ever get to see them again.

With all these thoughts in my head, I barely notice when the view outside suddenly turns black, ensuring that the tributes don't catch a glimpse of the Arena. Wouldn't want to give us an unfair advantage. I feel numb, almost like a ghost, as Maximus steers me towards the ladder. We enter the Launch Room made specifically for tributes before they enter the Arena. It feels crammed and suffocating. This is where I'll prepare before I find myself in the Games.

My whole body continues to tremble as I shower and brush my teeth. I force myself to savour the cleanliness of the shower, knowing full well I may never be this clean again. Maximus does my hair in two braids and I run my hand over them as he inspects my clothes for the Arena. He helps my shaking form get into them: black pants of a thin material, a forest green long sleeve shirt, a black belt, and simple sneakers.

"You'll be in some sort of greenery for sure. Long sleeves but no jacket probably mean that the weather will change throughout the Games, so be prepared."

I gasp when he brings out my mockingjay pin and fastens it to my upper sleeve.

"I almost forgot about it!"

"Yes. They cleared it. Some thought that the pin could be used as a weapon but I guess they changed their minds."

Even through my nervousness, I have to roll my eyes. The Capitol providing us with weapons and throwing us in an Arena to kill each other is fine, but one kid having a pin is too much? Either way, I'm glad I have this piece of my family with me now.

"Tributes," a voice crackles suddenly from the ceiling. "Prepare for launch."

My breathing quickens as I head to the glass tube. I understand how Haymitch must have felt during his breakdown. My room seems to spin and, for a moment, I think I may faint. I bite down again on my nearly mangled lip, using the pain to keep me present.

"Maysilee." Maximus says once I'm in the tube.

Glass walls start to descend from above me and I swallow down my fear. My hand finds my pin. "Yes?"

"I believe in you. Good luck."

Before I can say anything, the walls fully close and I feel myself rocketing upwards into blackness. I force myself to breathe normally, digging my nails into my palms. My eyes shut automatically as the tube slows, as though not seeing will make everything not real. The tube stops and I open my eyes slowly, the bright sun marring my first glimpse of the Arena.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. Let the Fiftieth Hunger Games begin!"

* * *

**This was a much shorter chapter because it's really just over a couple of hours. The next chapter will hopefully be out in a few days and is the official start to the Second Quarter Quell. Stay tuned!**

**P.S. Thank you for the four reviews I got on the past two chapters alone. They really made my day :)**


	14. The Countdown

**Chapter ****14: The Countdown**

Maysilee Donner

"Sixty."

I squint, trying to figure out what sort of arena I'm in.

"Fifty-nine."

_Oh wow..._

"Fifty-eight."

It looks beautiful. The Cornucopia is set in the middle of a breathtaking meadow. It looks like something out of fairy tales. The sky is a stunning shade of blue and I see small birds flying above us. Far in one direction, I spot a forest, much like the one beyond the electric fence back in District 12. In the other direction is the most beautiful mountain I've ever seen. The only other mountain I've seen before is a picture in a textbook of the one in District 2. District 12 doesn't have anything like this. This is paradise.

"Fifty."

I catch a whiff of the most heavenly of smells. Fresh flowers, soft grass, something sweet and saliva-inducing.

"Forty-nine."

My stomach sinks when I notice Velvet, one of the brutal District 1 tributes, on my left. His face is full of awe at our surroundings and his happiness only lifts as he looks in front of us.

"Forty-seven."

The golden Cornucopia is filled to the brim with weapons and gigantic backpacks. But Reynald said not to go there. My eyes lock on a bag maybe 20 meters in front of me. I shift my legs. I'm a fast runner. I can get to it.

"Forty-two."

Wait. _Where are the others?_

"Forty."

I exhale when I see Mazie directly on my right. She's scanning the circle of tributes, her face filled with tension and fear.

"Thirty-nine."

Her face suddenly relaxes and I follow her gaze. Miller, his red hair catching my eye, is almost directly across from us and is half hidden by the Cornucopia. He gives us both a thumbs up and points diagonally.

"Thirty-six."

About seven pedestals to my right, I catch Leila's gaze. Her green eyes are sparkling with fear and tears. Miller points to her again and then to the small group of trees behind her. Beyond that is the large, beautiful, snow-capped mountain. If we can get up on it, it would give a lot of protection. He must want us to meet up there with whatever supplies we can get. I nod to show I understand but feel uneasy.

"Thirty-three."

_William!_

"Thirty-two."

I scan the lines of tributes frantically. I can't see William or Ana. The uneasiness turns to panic.

"Thirty-one."

_Where is he?_

Haymitch Abernathy

"Thirty."

I dig my nails into my palms, trying to figure this out. We are in an actual paradise. Stunning lowers, puffy white clouds, songbirds. This place is something out of dreams and wishes, not an Arena where we're meant to die. Something's wrong. The Capitol would never leave us in a place like this.

"Twenty-three."

All of us tributes and the stunning Cornucopia are set in the middle of a luscious, green meadow. Quick glances in both directions tells me it goes on for a great length. On one side lays a mountain topped with snow. In the other is a much more familiar forest. My body angles towards the forest. I won't trust anything like the mountain that is that beautiful. Especially not here.

"Nineteen."

On my right is the girl from District 10, the one who matched my training score. A nine. The one who's going to ally with my fellow District 12s. Her eyes are set on a trio of fancy knives just in front of the Cornucopia. That must be her talent as well. For a moment I think of taking them, they seem great and would be very helpful, but I've watched enough of the Games to know that I'll need survival stuff first. There's no need for a weapon if you die of hunger. That means getting a backpack.

"Fifteen."

A tiny sob brings my attention directly to my left. Rowan's tear-filled eyes are locked on something hidden from my view by the massive, beautifully golden Cornucopia. It must be Jack. For a moment, my face drops and I have to force myself to betray no emotion. I feel a wave of fear for them, for me, for all of us. Ana is looking at Rowan too, something unreadable in her eyes. She confuses me. The girl who tried to get in with the Careers but then seemed happy to stay with outer-district tributes. The girl who is now poised to run to the Cornucopia. Maybe she's just trying to help her allies in any way she can. They would definitely need those knives.

"Thirteen."

_The Cornucopia!_ I can't leave the Bloodbath empty-handed. Most of the other tributes look either in awe or close to tears. Nearly all of them are distracted by the paradise of an Arena we're in. I don't think many tributes, except maybe the Careers and Ana, will be headed for any weapons. I draw my attention to the massive horn.

"Ten."

My eyes immediately lock on a big backpack just on the outskirts of the Cornucopia. My legs automatically turn towards it, prepared to sprint. Reynald would kill me if he knew I was going to do this. But I'm as good as dead if I don't get it. It could be the difference between life and death for all I know.

"Five."

_Death._ My breath hitches but I manage to keep my stony expression on my face. Oh wow. _I'm scared._

"Three."

I exhale slowly. _No use being scared now. Breathe._

"Two."

_Just relax. You can do this. You have to do this._

"One."

_Run!_

* * *

**The Games have officially started. I thought this would be a nice little chapter to have before the Bloodbath.**

**Any thoughts on who the Bloodbath deaths will be?**


	15. The Bloodbath

**Chapter 15: The Bloodbath**

Maysilee Donner

So many thoughts are rushing through my mind and I find that my legs don't seem to want to move. I crane my neck, searching desperately for William and Ana. Everyone around me looks frozen to their pedestal as well.

There's a rustle from somewhere on the other side of the Cornucopia. I shift to the side a bit and watch as Haymitch, who I hadn't noticed before, springs of his pedestal and sprints straight to the Cornucopia. _Idiot. _The little boy who was next to him is crying. I can't see who was on his other side.

Haymitch is the only one who has reached the Cornucopia. _Is he insane? The Careers are going to get him!_ But then I realize, none of the Careers have left their pedestals yet, none of the others have either. _They're too shocked._ What Haymitch is doing is actually brilliant. I leap of my pedestal at the same time Velvet does.

It seems like we've all had the same thoughts at the same time. Everyone seems to be moving now. As I make a mad dash for the backpack I spotted earlier, I spot Haymitch sprinting for the forest, a bulging bag on his back and a small case clenched in his fist.

I've reached the bag. I skid to a stop to scoop it up when I'm knocked over from behind.

I fall awkwardly, scraping my elbow on a small jagged rock. But I spin around immediately, rolling back but dragging the maroon bag with me.

One of the girls from District 3, who I've never noticed before, lunges for the bag at my hand. Adrenaline shoots through me and I yank it back, scrambling to my feet. She kicks at me and I jump out of the way—just in time for her to fall to the ground in front of me, a spear sticking out of her back.

I gag, hugging the backpack close to me, unable to tear my eyes from the girl's now dead body. Blood oozes from the would, seeping through her jacket.

It's now that I can hear the sounds of the fights around me. Screams of pain, victory, and warning erupt from all around me. Multiple people are dead. The knowledge of that makes waves of dizziness go through me.

"Maysilee! Watch out!"

I look up—and duck as another spear comes flying for my head. I watch as it sinks into the stomach of Kylie, the 12-year-old from District 6 who had fallen at the obstacle course. A dull pang goes through me. She was so little. A couple of meters away, the District 1 boy, not Velvet but the other one, scowls but leaves me to find another target with his third spear, dangling in his hand.

Someone puts a hand on my shoulder and I punch out instinctively. William grabs my hand. "It's just me, Maysilee, don't worry."

"William," I cry, squeezing his hand. I realize that he must have been the one to cry out for me. "You saved my life," I say. "Thank—"

I'm cut off as a knife comes flying at us. We leap out of the way and it lands on the floor beside me. I pick it up.

William's voice is urgent. "Let's find the others and get out of here. Did you get a pack?"

I show him the maroon bag and he nods, showing me the large green one in his hand. He must have picked it up while running towards me.

"Mazie!" A shout sounds from behind us. "What are you doing? Run!"

Miller flies past us, two copper-coloured knives clutched in his hand. I look over to Mazie and gasp. She's standing still on her pedestal, her eyes widened with shock, her legs locked into place. The District 1 boy, the one with the spear, is sprinting towards her. Me and William exchange a glance, and follow Miller.

The District 1 boy reaches her seconds before we do. Instead of throwing the spear like he did the other two times, he swings it at her.

"Mazie!"

Mazie looks over at her brother, who has almost reached her, and seems to notice what's going on. She jerks away but the spear catches her arm, opening a large gash. She screams in pain and stumbles off the pedestal and onto the ground. The District 1 boy holds the bloody spear above her head and is about to plunge it down when Miller pushes him violently away and stabs him in the neck. He gags and retches for a few moments, then falls to the ground dead.

Miller, without even looking at him again, reaches for his sister. She sobs as he cradles her in his arms. He picks her up easily and turns to face us.

I hand him the knife I picked up earlier and he takes it without a word. William, spotting a loaf of bread on the ground at his feet, scoops it up. "We have to go. Where's Leila and Ana?"

We look around and Mazie points to the group of trees where Leila is standing and watching us. She's shaking. A small canteen of water dangles from her wrist.

"Come on."

William, being the strongest of us, hands Miller his pack and the loaf of bread and takes Mazie instead. We run for the trees. Some colour returns to Leila's ashen face when she sees us. I give her a hug and she leans into me.

"Where's Ana?"

I spot her, running towards us, a bigger maroon bag swinging on her back and a trio of fancy knives in her hands. As she draws closer, I realize that they have swirled engravings on them.

"Let's go to the mountains," she says breathlessly. It's only then that I realize that the forest green of her shirt is dark with blood.

Leila makes a sort of strangled noise. "Ana," she gasps. "Did you _kill _someone?"

Ana looks down, hiding her face. "I had to. They attacked me."

"Who was it?"

"I don't know," she says shortly. "I didn't check. It was self defense."

Leila steps forwards, most likely to comfort Ana, but falls forwards. I catch her before she hits the ground.

"Leila!" I cry, seeing that her right ankle is bent at an odd position. "What happened?"

She winces in my arms. "The canteen of water I have was just in front of my pedestal. I thought I could get it before we left. Someone shoved me to the ground and I banged my foot against the pedestal."

"They didn't attack you?"

"No. I think they were headed for the Cornucopia."

"Oh Leila," I sigh. A second glance at it tells me that it's broken. Iris had taught me how to identify broken bones before. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't think it was that bad. But it hurts really bad now."

I finger it and she whimpers. Remembering what Iris had told me, I know she won't be able to walk.

"We should go now. Before the Bloodbath is over."

Miller, not wanting to be separate from his sister, carries Mazie in his arms while William scoops Leila into his. Me and Ana are left carrying the supplies. We all start to head for the mountain, going as fast as we can in our group's poor condition. I know the journey will take about an hour before the mountain will provide us with shelter and I can only hope that no one will attack us while we are so exposed.

Haymitch Abernathy

The moment the gong goes off, I'm sprinting as fast as I can towards the dark green pack I saw earlier. It will camouflage nicely in the forest.

I snatch it up and turn, expecting the other tributes to be behind me, ready to attack. Instead I find no one. They are all glued to their pedestals, watching me.

Reynald's disapproving glare comes to mind and I realize that unless I get out of here fast, the others will get me. But for now I'm alone.

I glance at the Cornucopia just meters away and, before I can back out, sprint towards it.

It's filled with weapons but my eyes are looking for something specific: a knife. I grin as I spot a small black case. A quick look inside tells me it has 6 simple knives just like the ones in training. _Jackpot._

My grin slips when I hear the sound of footsteps from behind me, followed by a scream. The thud of a body hitting the ground. More footsteps follow, getting louder. A wave of nausea hits me and I have to remind myself to stay calm. My feet take me running in the direction of the forest before anyone else reaches the Cornucopia.

In a move of pure dumbness and fear, I sprint all the way to the edge of the forest. After about 7 minutes I stop and lean against a tree, catching my breath, and decide to watch the rest of the Bloodbath play out.

I can't see much from here and immediately regret turning back to watch. The only thing I can see is dead bodies on the floor and sprays of red—which I know are blood. I catch a group of about 6 heading for the mountains and two other groups of three or four head in the same direction. The others seem to be heading in my direction.

Trying desperately not to think about who the dead bodies could belong to, I turn back and continue into the forest.

Of course, when you try not to think about something, you only think about it more. I'm torn between hoping no one died and wishing everyone did, so I could just go home. At least in the Bloodbath your death is short. Once the Careers have time to become bloodthirsty and more creative, your death is guaranteed to be painful.

I wonder if my district mates all made it out okay. I know they were planning to team up together, along with three others. Maybe they were one of the groups I saw heading for the mountain? The mountain makes me uneasy but I know William has good judgement. I hear the sound of muffled voices from somewhere in the forest and quicken my pace to a jog, deciding that shelter from any other tributes is the most important thing right now. I can check out my pack later.

After about 10 minutes, I notice I'm not really in a forest, it's more like woods. Darker, more plants, and a lot more animals. They keep to themselves but I decide that I'll have to hunt them if my pack doesn't have any food. It was near the Cornucopia though, so it should.

My mind wanders to Hayden and my mom, who must be watching the screen with bated breath. I know that they must be worried about me. I wonder if mom is taking care of Hayden.

The more I think about my little brother, the more I wish I could be at home. But then everyone here would be dead. Everyone. My fellow district 12s. Rowan and Jack.

Jack. The boy who reminds me so much of my brother. His family must be watching as well, hoping he won't be shown in the sky tonight. The same is true for 46 other people. 46 other _kids._

I'm going to try and win. I know I'll try as hard as I can. But I can't and won't kill someone unless I have too. Unless it's self defense. _How would I live with myself otherwise?_ Those kids have family too. Moms, dads, brothers and sisters. Best friends. Everyone they love. People they want to go home to.

It's silent now and I can only hope that I'm far away from any other tributes. I'm in a nice group of trees, tall, with many branches. I could easily climb up into one and stay there until I'm forced to come back down.

I lean down, meaning to take off my pack when I spot a small group of butterflies flying around me. There are other things too, squirrels that seem to be keeping to themselves and candy pink birds that I can just see above the treeline. Like everything else here, the animals are beautiful. I find myself drawing closer to the butterflies for a better look.

One of them land on my hand and I study it. The wings are deep shades of pink and purple and are curved upwards. I've only ever seen photos of butterflies in school textbooks and the photos didn't look like these. These are much prettier. I freeze. The photos looked a lot different from these. Now that I think about it, these butterflies hardly look like the pictures I remember at all. _Since when do butterflies have stingers?_

I shake my hand vigorously, suddenly not wanting the beautiful creature near me. I'm put immediately on edge when the butterfly doesn't budge. Another two come to sit on my wrist.

"Get off," I hiss, flicking at them. "Go away."

I almost scream out loud when one of them sinks it's stinger into my flesh slowly. The pain is agony, like hot liquid burning my skin and my blood. I swat at them again and two of them fly away. The last one, the one stinging me, is the only one to stay.

My vision blurs and I stumble, my pack digging into my flesh as I lean heavily against a tree. The stinger, which seems longer than before, is still going directly into my vein. My entire left arm feels like it's on fire. I groan and feel my knees slam into the ground. Through the haze that is now my vision, I grab at the butterfly's wings—ignoring the searing pain in my fingers—and yank the insect away from my skin.

I taste blood in my mouth as I stare at the purple covering my wrist. A wave of severe dizziness hits me and I wind up completely on the ground, trying not to scream from the pain. I dig my nails into my flesh, trying to stay awake, but it's no use. I can already feel myself slipping away.

* * *

**Well that was a pretty good ending if I do say so myself. Most of the characters made it out of the Bloodbath alive. You'll figure out who died on day one in the next chapter. Just because someone didn't die in the Bloodbath doesn't mean they're safe. Tell me what you think will happen next.**


	16. Gone Too Soon

**Chapter 16: Gone Too Soon**

Maysilee Donner

Leila starts to scream when the canons go off. Her hands shoot up to cover her ears and William, shocked, drops her. She lands on the hard floor and curls into a ball, all the while still screaming.

"Leila!" Mazie cries, motioning for her brother to put her down. "Leila, what is it?"

Me and William exchange a worried glance and bend down.

"What is it?" I say, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She jerks back and I catch sight of her face, hidden behind her shaking hands. She's crying. But she's not bleeding or injured anywhere else except for her foot, which is still oddly bent and is turning almost purple.

Ana frowns. "Someone's going to find us."

I look around. We've been running as fast as we could for the past hour or so, determined to get as far away from the Bloodbath as possible. The gorgeous mountain is only about a half mile away now. We could easily reach the base soon. With the slopes and tall shrubs, we would be covered. Right now, only a couple of trees are sheltering us.

_Boom. Boom. Boom._

The canons are still going off. Miller straightens up. "How many are there? Those are for the Bloodbath deaths."

None of us know. Leila is still sobbing.

"Make them stop!" She screams shrilly. "We're going to die."

"We're going to die if you keep screaming," Ana says, her voice oddly sharp. "Calm down."

The canons have stopped now. Leila still has her hands tightly clamped over her ears. Mazie sits on the floor, trying to wrap her arms around the younger girl. Leila catches sight of the blood and cries out again. "Daddy! Daddy, run!"

"Oh," William says quietly. I quickly realize what happened and a rush of sympathy of Leila goes through me.

"What?" Ana asks. "What's wrong with her?"

"The canons," I say. "They sound like explosions. Like the coal mining accidents back at home."

William nods. "Her dad nearly died in a big one a few years ago."

"Oh, how horrible!" Mazie says, hugging Leila. I notice both of their faces are very pale. Their injuries must be bothering them. Especially Mazie, whose arm is still dripping with blood.

"It's alright, Leila," I say, rubbing her shoulder. "You're not in the mines. You're safe, we're all safe." I frown when the words come out of my mouth. Judging by the looks Miller and Ana give me, it's clear no one thinks we're safe. And the words remind me of what I said to Haymitch before.

As if we were thinking the same thing, William says quietly, "I wonder if sounds like the canon bother Haymitch as well."

I look down. I haven't told him about the breakdown Haymitch had. It doesn't seem my place to spill his secrets. "It must." is all I say.

"Whose Haymitch?" Miller asks.

Leila looks up. "He's our district partner. He has dark hair. The one who ran off at the Cornucopia." She seems to have recovered quickly. She must know that we can't afford to be weak now.

William, letting Leila and Mazie help each other walk, gestures for us to keep walking. We walk as a group: William and Ana in the front, Leila and Mazie in the middle, and Miller and I at the back. The more alert and stronger of us to guard our two injured members.

"He was on the pedestal next to mine," Ana says. "What about him?"

"His dad died in the same accident my dad got hurt in," Leila says, leaning heavily against Mazie just to walk. Even with that help, she's limping heavily.

"Do coal mining accidents happen a lot?" Mazie asks.

"Sort of," William says. "The Capitol doesn't really seem to care about the safety of the coal miners. They have pretty bad working conditions there."

The talking seems to die down as we near the mountain. We're getting tired quickly and still haven't stopped to check our packs for any water or food. Talking will only tire us out and bring unwanted attention. Still, we do make some small talk. No talk at all would have driven us all crazy.

About ten minutes later, when we've just reached the base of the mountain, it occurs to me that Miller is completely silent.

I look to my side and with a jolt of fear, notice he isn't there. I call out for the others to stop. We spin around, looking for him.

Mazie points behind us. "Miller!"

Miller's standing a few feet away. He seems to have stopped walking. He's trembling and his eyes are wide, like he's in shock.

Mazie, leaving Leila to lean on Ana's shoulder, rushes to him. "Miller, what's wrong?"

"I killed someone," he says as we draw closer. "I'm a murderer."

"You saved my life," Mazie says firmly. "You had to do it. Don't worry."

I think of everyone who must have died at the Bloodbath. The canons seemed to have gone on for a long time. I'm exhausted suddenly, thinking that so many of the faces I saw over the previous week are no longer alive. No wonder Miller seems so shocked.

It takes a few minutes to get him to continue walking. We're all so tired that we decide to stop for the time being, a few feet up the mountain on a flat part mostly covered by bushes, all covered in delicious looking fruit unlike anything I've ever seen before.

As we all sit, Leila immediately reaches for a orange fruit hanging just over her head. She looks so worn out and seems hungry as well. I wonder if she ate at all today.

"Wait," I say quickly. "Let's see what's in our packs first."

She sighs and puts it down. "But there's so much stuff here. We could save whatever we have."

"Maybe," William says. "But we have to make sure it's safe to eat."

I hadn't even thought of that. But then I remember a Game from when I was about eleven. There had been these gorgeous blue fruits which turned out to be filled with mini ants that crawled out from them and attacked the tributes. Maylene had refused to eat any sort of berries for about a month after she saw a little girl get eaten alive by the insects.

"Let's see what we have then," Ana says, putting all of our packs in a pile between us all.

All together we have a decent haul. There's the maroon bag I have, along with William's bigger green one and Ana's large maroon one. We have the loaf of bread from next to Mazie's pedestal and the one liter canteen of water that Leila broke her foot getting. Miller places his two knives in the pile and Ana sets her three fancy ones on her lap.

At first, I'm disappointed with my pack, which only has a bowl and a packet of dried beef. William's has two packets of crackers, another one liter bottle of water, three cups, matches, and a small sleeping bag. Ana's bag from right near the Cornucopia is the best, with two large blankets, another loaf of bread, three bags of sliced apples, two packets of the same crackers, a belt for her knives, another bottle of water, and a long roll of thick rope.

"They've given us a lot of food," Miller remarks, looking at it all. "Why would they? When we have so much available? Couldn't they have given us weapons or something? Even a bag near the Cornucopia didn't have one."

"That _is _weird," Mazie agrees, looking through my bag. I'm about to say how I wish mine had something instead of a useless bowl, when Mazie gasps. "Maysilee! You got darts!"

"What?" Sure enough, when I take a closer look, I notice that the bag has another pocket. This pocket, to everyone's surprise and delight, has a blowgun and two dozen darts. I can't help but grin. Something has finally gone right.

We all split one of the water bottles and each take two slices of bread, deciding to finish one loaf so we'll have less to carry with us. It's good stuff too, a rustic wheat kind with seeds in the crust. Even better than the bakery's bread, which is made from the cheapest flour or even sometimes tesserae grain.

Leila sighs as we finish. "I'm still hungry. Are you sure we can't try the fruit?"

William frowns, looking deep in thought. "It just seems weird. They gave us so much food, almost like we would need it all. But them there's so much in the Arena too."

Seemingly forgetting about her foot, Leila stands, only to fall again. She frowns. "I wish Reynald would send in something to help us."

I had almost forgotten about him. "Maybe he'll send in something for your foot." I look over at Mazie. "Or maybe some bandages for Mazie's arm."

They look hopeful. "Do you think we've got sponsors?"

Miller nods. "With the three of our districts combined, we should have enough money for a sponsor gift. All of our mentors must be working together."

"Well, they also have to take care of our district partners as well."

There's a silence as the fact that our district partners could be dead sinks into everyone's mind. I wonder if Haymitch is dead. But he couldn't be. He had gotten as far away from the Bloodbath as anyone could've. I don't know how I'd feel if I saw his face in the sky tonight. If none of the six of us win, I'd want him too. Although I may not like him, he's still from my district.

Leila hands Ana the orange fruit she had earlier. "You were the best at the edible fruit station, even better than me. Can you check it?"

"I don't know, Leila," I say slowly. "We already have enough food."

"But it looks so good!"

Ana hands it back to her after a minute of close examining. "I think it's fine. It has none of the warning signs we learned about at the station."

She smiles. "So I can eat it?"

"I don't see why not. Anyone else want one?"

Mazie nods eagerly and Ana hands her another orange one.

William nudges me and bends down to whisper in my ear. "Something doesn't feel right."

Mazie's examining her fruit closely. I nod. "But it's probably safe. Why wouldn't it be? Leila and Ana are the best at the edible food station. They would know which foods to eat."

William opens his mouth to say something when Mazie stands, rushing at Leila. "Wait! Don't eat it!"

Me and William turn to see Mazie wrench the half-eaten fruit from Leila's hand, throwing them both on the floor. At first, Leila looks confused, but then she freezes, her green eyes going wide.

"What is it?" I say, panic shooting through me. "What's wrong?"

Leila starts to cough, gagging on the fruit. We all scream in alarm when blood sprays out of her mouth, splattering onto the floor.

"It's poisonous," Mazie says, tears welling in her eyes. "Look at the seeds."

Ana's frozen. "How can it be? It doesn't have any of the signs we were supposed to look for."

I rush to Leila, who's on the ground and has blood dribbling from her mouth. She grasps my hand tightly. A shoot of pain and horror goes through me like broken glass.

"No!" I cry out. Tears well up in my eyes, knowing there's nothing I can do. Mazie is sobbing into her brother's arms and Ana is standing, shocked, behind me. Someone puts their hand on my shoulder and I know it's William. His other one goes to hold Leila's frail body as she collapses.

"Don't eat it," she whispers. She knows there's no curing her now. "It must all be poisonous."

"I'm so sorry." I have to force the words out. "We didn't know."

"It's okay," a soft smile passes her lips. "I wasn't going to make it anyway. At least no one killed me. That would have been worse. This is alright."

My tears spill over, rushing down my cheeks. William is shaking next to me.

Leila's tight grip on my hand loosens and I squeeze it, trying to comfort myself.

"Was I helpful?" she talks around the blood in her mouth.

"Yes," William whispers. "You helped us a lot. Thank you, Leila."

William is like that. He knows what Leila wants, even in her last moments. The childish want to be helpful, to be valued. No matter how mature Leila may have ever seemed, she's just a child. A child put into this horrible world of the Hunger Games.

Leila smiles, a short smile, before her hands slips from mine and William's grasp. Her beautiful green eyes glaze over and I can just make out one last word, whispered quietly as she leaves this world. "Win."

I fall back into William's arms, crying. He holds me tight and I can see the tears on his cheeks as her canon sounds. Sweet, little, Leila. Gone too soon from this cruel world.

"We have to move," Miller says quietly after a few minutes.

No one wants to. Me and William kiss Leila's cold forehead. We all walk for a few minutes up the mountain to another spot covered in bushes bearing those some orange fruits. The only thing the bushes are good for now is cover. That must be why we got so much food. We can't eat anything here.

Ana doesn't say a word. Not as we move all of our stuff. Not even as the hovercraft comes down to take Leila back to District 12. Only when the silver parachute comes down, and we open it to find bandages and a boot, does she begin to sob.

Haymitch Abernathy

I jerk awake at the sound of a canon. I realize that I'm on the ground and jump to my feet, stumbling dizzily. Remembering the reason I was on the ground in the first place, I look around but the butterflies are nowhere in sight. They must have flown off after attacking me. I gingerly inspect the purple bruise on my left wrist. Their stingers must have been infused with some sort of poison. At least my right hand is still good for fighting with. I think of the agonizing pain I'd felt and know I'm lucky the stinger didn't go all the way in. Otherwise I'd be dead for sure. They must be some sort of mutt. Trust the Capitol to have made such beautiful things so deadly.

I curse when I realize what the canon means. Someone died. And as there was only one, the initial canons from after the Bloodbath must have already happened. Now I have no way of knowing how many tributes are left until tonight, when I'll see their dead faces in the sky.

I wonder who's still alive. The canon just now could have been for anyone. I cross my fingers, hoping it wasn't for Jack or Rowan. I didn't see either of them after the gong started. I briefly wonder if it was for someone from District 12. Leila, Maysilee, or William. I shake my head. They have each other, they must be fine. Unless they ran into a mutt like I did.

Picking up my pack and my case of knives, I head deeper into the forest. The more I can get away from the other tributes, the better. It's pure luck that no one ran into me while I was unconscious. Although, if some did, they may have thought I was dead. But no, then they would have taken my pack. No one must be around then. At least not super close to me.

Still, I walk for about 20 minutes until I'm fully surrounded by trees. I make sure to give any place with butterflies a wide berth. It gets me wondering if there are any other mutts here as well. The Capitol would have never stopped with just one. I guess only time will tell. I hope that no one mutts decide to use me as their lunch.

Climbing one of the large, leafy trees I find proves to be difficult. When I slip for the second time and crash to the ground, I realize that my left hand is numb. It still works, just slower. I sigh inwardly and hope that it doesn't prove to be more bothersome later. An i jury to one hand won't do anything but make my life in the Arena harder. I slip the knife case into a small pocket on my pack and sling it over my back. A loose branch cuts into my arm while my injured hand slowly closes around the branch above me. I hiss, wishing that there could be some way to fix my hand.

_Reynald could probably find away to fix it, _I think bitterly. Then I remember that I'm right. We must have at least a few sponsors. Everything is cheaper on the first day. _Didn't Reynald think I could win? __But he also liked me the least out of the four of us. _I wonder if he's sent anything to the other three. Or is he drunk again? Already given up on us.

It takes me a while to get up the tree. What should have been a simple task for me is made hard and by the time I'm up in a branch, I'm panting. Judging by the sky, nightfall should be in just about an hour. I grab my backpack from my back, grinning when it's the exact same colour as the green of the trees. Even if I leave without it for some reason, no one else will be able to get it. Unless they are right up in the tree.

For a bag right near the Cornucopia, I'm a little disappointed. It's a good bag but I expected more for something so risky to obtain. There's certainly more food than I think would be needed, seeing as there is so much growing around me.

The bag contains a loaf of white bread, matches, two packets of crackers, two one-liter bottles of water, a packet of nuts and seeds, three bags of sliced apples, a thin blanket, a square of cloth around the length of my forearm, a length of rope, and a small bottle filled with little pink capsules.

Something about this large amount of food doesn't seem right to me. This backpack is basically meant for a Career and it doesn't have a single weapon. If I hadn't grabbed the case of knives that I have now, I would be weaponless. I think about how beautiful the butterflies were and how they turned out to be mutts that almost killed me. The fruits could very well be the same thing. I should steer clear of them for now.

If I pace myself, this amount of food could last me a very long time. After spending a week gorging myself at the Capitol, it may be a little hard but I know I don't have a choice until I can figure out if the food growing here is safe. I open a bag of apples and eat them while examining my knives. They're very good ones, much like the ones I did best with at training.

My hands find that little bottle again, the one filled with what looks like pills. This bag was meant for someone who could have a good chance in the Games, it was right near the Cornucopia after all. Everything must be special and valuable. I take a look at the label and almost choke on an apple slice.

_Poison Reverse Capsules. Take two as soon as possible after contact with poison. Will minimize harm done to the body._

Poison. The food here must be poisonous. There is no other explanation. Why else would we have gotten so much food in our packs? It's meant to be just enough to sustain us. And capsules to reverse the effects of poison have no use unless something here is poisonous. I'd bet on it being the food. We did have an edible plants station at Training after all.

The Capitol probably would have preferred for a Career to get their hands on these pills. That means I have a chance in these Games. Not too many other people will have figured it out and still be alive. I take two of the pills just in case the butterflies were poisonous as well and stuff them back in my bag, to the bottom. I slowly replace everything, leaving the case of knives at the top so I can get to them easily if needed.

My stomach rumbles and I allow myself just one slice of bread. I rip it into pieces first, trying to make it last longer. It isn't much and I know I'll need more energy than this but it'll have to do for now. Back at home, I had often eaten nothing for days, giving what little food I had to my brother.

Hayden. School is always cancelled on the first day of the Games. He must be watching me, if I'm on camera. Unless a huge fight is happening, which is unlikely now that the Bloodbath is over, I must have made an appearance a few times. After all, the Gamemakers must need to show that there are mutts in the Arena.

The sound of cracking branches makes me tense. For a moment, I forget I'm up in a tree and I move back, almost falling and slamming my already injured hand against the trunk.

I catch myself in time though and rub at my hand ruefully. It's stiff and I'm not sure how much the poison reverse pills are helping.

A boy bursts into the area of trees that I'm in. I freeze, making sure not to move at all.

But he doesn't seem to even be looking for anyone. He must have run away from the Bloodbath. Only a bottle of water is in his hand. And it's half empty. I shake my head, it's a dumb mistake to finish half your supply of water when you don't even have access to food. He must know that, because he's glancing at the blue berries growing on the tree across from mine. A warning almost passes my lips. I know that there's a good chance that they are poisonous. But I'm not completely sure and I don't trust him not to attack me if I reveal myself, even if it is to help him.

If I wasn't sure about the fruits and berries before, I am now. The boy has just crammed a handful of the blue berries in his mouth, not even bothering to check them, when he starts to choke. My breath catches in my throat as blood sprays from his mouth as he coughs of the fruit. The red paints the grass, making me freeze in the tree.

It seems like it takes forever for the boy to stop coughing although it must have only really been about a minute. He lays on the ground, the blood from his mouth everywhere around him, for a few seconds before his canon sounds, making me jump.

I take a deep breath as a jolt of fear goes through me. The canon is much louder in real life than it is back at home through the television screen. The Gamemakers must have it so anyone asleep would be able to wake up and move for the body to be collected. I stare at the lifeless body below me and know I have to do the same. I pick up my bag and jump from the tree, not bothering to hurt my hand by trying to climb down carefully.

I land, hard, right next to the dead boy. I almost gag when I see his sandy blond hair matted with his own blood. The capsules I had could have saved him, now I know that for certain. The reality of that sits in my stomach like a stone. _I let him die._

He's from District 8, I notice the large 8 on the back of his shirt. I'm about to turn and leave when I remember the half bottle of water he had. It's on the floor beside him, at my feet. I reach for it but the sight of blood on it makes me draw my hand back. I can't drink from that. I won't. I have my own water, I'll manage.

After about five minutes of running, I stop again and climb up a tree. The loud beep from the hovercraft sounds behind me and I can hear the sound of his body being taken away. He'll arrive in District 8, cold and lifeless. I wonder if his family hates me for now helping him. But they wouldn't know I have the capsules, would they?

My hand aches as I set my bag between the branches in front of me. I've found some branches that comes together to make a sturdy fork to sit and rest in. I'll miss it when I have to leave from here.

Panem's national anthem starts up and I steel myself, knowing that anyone's face could show up in the sky. The images start and I find myself staring at the pictures of kids who are no longer alive.

The first to show up is one of the boys from District 1. I'm shocked. A Career dying on the first day doesn't happen too often. It isn't Velvet, who I know hangs around Shimmer but the other one, whose name I never figured out. I wonder how he died. Then it's two girls from District 3, followed by one of their male partners. One of the girls from District 4, another Career. A girl and boy from District 5. The two twelve-year-olds from District 6. A girl from District 7. A girl and two boys from District 8. I see the boy who died from the berries. I sigh with relief, knowing that Jack must still be alive. A boy, not Miller, from District 9. A girl and a boy from District 10. 2 girls from District 11. I freeze when Rowan's young face comes up next. I remember how he cried at the Bloodbath. Now he's dead. The last face to show throws me off. Leila's face appears in the sky, her bright green eyes sparkling before they disappear forever.

I sit back, shocked. Except for District 2, at least one person has died from every District. Some only have one person left. I count the number of faces I saw. Twenty. twenty kids gone in one day. And eighteen in the Bloodbath alone. That must be some sort of record.

Jack is alive but Rowan's dead. I wonder if he died in the Bloodbath or if his canon was the one that woke me up. Then there's Leila. I think of her young self. The way she cried the day before our interviews. How she loved the hot chocolate from the Capitol. I almost can't believe that she's dead.

I knew she would never win. A 12-year-old has never won before. But I had hoped that she would last longer than just a day. She must have died in the Bloodbath. I guess she wasn't a part of that group of 6 I saw headed towards the mountain. William and Maysilee, wherever they are, must be devastated. I can only hope that she didn't suffer.

My mind still reeling from all this new information, I decide to sleep. I'll need all the rest I can get before the Games get even harder. I eat another slice of bread, the loaf I got has 12, and pull out my blanket. It isn't very thick but it isn't too cold here. I've just got into a nice position when I hear the sounds of raised voices not too far from here. Talking and laughing. The amount of voices tells me it's a group. A large group.

The Careers.

* * *

**Cliffhanger! I wasn't planning to end it there but I wanted to get this chapter out as quick as I could and I figured that it was long enough already. I had another death planned but I think you guys need a chapter to recover from Leila. Sorry about that! Her death was hard to write but it had to happen here. At least now the others know not to eat the food from the Arena.**

**Who do you think will die in the next chapter?**

**Updates will come soon! Take care :)**


	17. In Too Deep

**Chapter 17: In Too Deep**

Haymitch Abernathy

My heart slams in my chest as I double check to make sure that I'm concealed up in my tree. The Careers have somehow already found their way to the forest. They must be starting their hunt. Looking for the weakest of us to kill off first to appeal to the Capitol.

I can tell by the amount of noise that they're making that they aren't too far away from where I am. Maybe a little less than a 100 meters. Not close enough to see me but close enough that, with enough light, I would be able to see them.

The voices get louder and I can just make out the outline of their shadows. They've come to a stop at the small group of trees across from mine and one voice raises above them all.

"Well, well, well," the voice sneers. It's a girl's, and oddly familiar. "What do we have here?" I freeze. The voice is Shimmer's, the sadistic girl from District 1. I remember when I had fought with her at training. She's probably the most ruthless out of all the Careers. Honestly, she's so cruel I almost don't believe how anyone could ever want her to win. Her only saving grace—probably the reason the Capitol loves her—is that she plays the sexy angle at any point she can. She laughs again, this time louder, and my stomach drops. _Can she see me?_

But it turns out I didn't have to worry. Because I can hear another Career, Velvet I think, answer here. "A scared little boy." A small part of me relaxes. I'm definitely not what others would consider a scared little boy. The rest of me is still locked into place, trying to figure out my next move.

"Look at him shaking." Another of them says mockingly. The group laughs and I feel instantly worried about whomever they have found. That little boy is as good as dead now. I try to tell myself that it doesn't matter. That I don't care. It's part of the game after all and I can't go around trying to save anyone. It's my life or theirs. And I have to get back home.

Still, my thoughts don't help to cover the fact that I'm rigid with anticipation, my hands trembling as I grab hard at the branches above me, ensuring I won't fall and reveal my location. My breath quickens at the thought of having to watch another child be killed because of these Games but I force myself to keep quiet. I'm covered by enough trees that any cameras nearby shouldn't be able to pick up on the slight shaking. I'm grateful. I can't afford to show even a shred of weakness.

"Come on," it's Shimmer again, the malice in her voice barely hidden. "Aren't you going to speak? Are you that dumb? I wouldn't be surprised. Even the dumbest of you outer district scum should know not to linger around at night." My blood boils and I have to bite my tongue to keep myself from speaking. Out of anger, irritation, and fear. I'll admit that there's a little of that too. The Careers go around thinking that they are so much better than us. Just because they lick the feet of the Capitol.

She speaks again. "Should I cut him with my axe?" she asks her allies. "That'll get a word out of him." Her next words are for their latest victim. "Speak. Or you'll die right here and now. And I won't make it fast."

"Come on, Shimmer." It's another Career but I'm not quite sure who it is. Maybe one of the boys from Four. "Why do you get all the kills? You took most of the Cornucpoia ones too. You'd better save some for the rest of us too."

Now I actually want to yell. They talk about kills like a child talks about candy. Like it's harmless, and fun. I don't know if I would have actually spoken, because hearing the voice of their victim leaves me speechless.

"Please," a fragile, weak voice says. "Please don't kill me."

I freeze. Their victim is Jack.

Maysilee Donner

William and I offer to take first watch for the first night of our Games. Mazie, who is understandably exhausted, goes to sleep immediately. Miller, after making sure that we have the weapons to defend ourselves, sleeps beside her, a hand on his knife. The protectiveness of this makes me miss my twin, who has always been the most delicate out of the both of us.

Ana vehemently refuses to sleep for a good ten minutes. She says she doesn't want anything to happen to us and since she is the eldest and has her knives, she can defend us better. I know she feels bad about giving Leila the fruit that killed her. It wasn't her fault, none of us would have ever known, but she must feel horrible regardless.

She relents afterwards, after noticing the way William's hands are trembling and how my eyes are glossed over with tears. Me and William sit against a tree, guarding our group in silence. I don't think I could bear seeing William's face. He treated Leila almost like a little sister. It seems like hours until we can hear our three remaining allies start to snore. The moment they do, William and I are entangled together, hugging, comforting one another, and just grieving together. As one.

William's hands shake as they run through my hair. "She was so little."

"I know," I whisper, pulling him close and wrapping my arms around him, trying to stop my shivering. "I know."

"Remember our first morning at the Capitol?" His voice is uneven. "She had hot chocolate and was going crazy about it. My sisters would have done the same."

I sniff. "Oh, William. I'm going to miss her so much."

I didn't think it was possible for us to get any closer together but somehow I find myself staring at his stunning blond eyelashes. His voice drops and his lips graze my ears and I know his next words are only for me. "I hate it. All of it. The Capitol is so cruel."

I try to pull back but his arms have locked me in place. "William," my voice drops as low as his. "Don't say that. Please don't say that. They can punish us. Even out here."

His voice is cold. The sweet, kind boy I know and love has been hardened by the Capitol's cruelty. "I don't care, Maysilee. It doesn't matter anymore. We'll all be dead soon anyway."

"One of us might win," I say, my voice breaking. "Our families. They need us."

He freezes and I can feel his tears on my face. "I don't know what we're supposed to do, May."

"May," I repeat, the word coming out as a whisper. Something in me changes. "William, I'm scared."

He pulls back enough for me to see his face. His eyes sparkle and for a moment, he's the only thing I can think of. Not the Games, not my family, not even Leila. Just him.

And then he's kissing me. And we're falling back into the floor. My arms are around him and his arms are around me and we can't get enough of each other. We're whispering and crying and smiling and we're doing it all together. And everything feels like it's all right again.

Which is ironic. Because the exact opposite is true.

But for that short piece of time, we don't worry about that. We let ourselves be teenagers. And I can imagine a world without the Games. Where we're just two teens madly in love. Wanting to be with each other for every second of every day and spending it all intertwined and wrapped in each other's arms. I can imagine a world where I wouldn't have to worry about my kids dying before my eyes or seeing another bloody body. I can imagine a world of peace and freedom.

And it's amazing.

It seems like years before we break apart. Panting and wide-eyed but smiling and giddy at the same time. William caresses my face with his hands and there's nothing I want more than to go back to what we were doing just seconds earlier and leave all my troubles for another time.

But then I remember where we are and I can feel my cheeks flood with warmth. I look down, not believing what I just let myself do.

"May," William says softly. "May, what is it?"

I look up at him shyly. "I just had my first kiss. In front of all of Panem."

He smiles. "Me too."

"All of Panem!" I whisper-shout. "That means our families too. Everyone just saw us kiss."

His face is in front of mine again and his voice is soft and playful. "Does it matter?"

I feel oddly giddy and have to let myself laugh. "In the grand scheme of things, I guess not."

Then, we're kissing again. We're right up against each other and the only thing that breaks me away from him is the sound of a parachute landing beside us.

I eye it carefully, still wrapped in his arms. "What do you think it is?"

William shrugs. "I don't know. Did we need anything?"

Something comes to my mind. "You don't think we got sponsors because we were kissing right?"

He laughs. "That would be a useful bonus." His hand wraps around mine. "Maybe it's food. If everything here is poisonous we'll need more food."

And he's right. Inside that parachute is a loaf of bread that almost makes me cry. It's the same loaf of bread that we ate after we got reaped on the ride to the Capitol.

"Thank you Reynald," I whisper because I know that he is behind this gift. He must have seen me and William eating the entire loaf then and knew it would help us after Leila's death. Even though he's drunk, maybe he does care about us after all.

My hands play with the loaf and I glance over at our three sleeping allies. "Should we wake the others?"

William shakes his head and sets it down beside us. "Let them sleep. It'll be a nice surprise for them to wake up to."

I smile. He's always so thoughtful. "Okay." Then a thought occurs to me and I frown. "William?"

"Yeah?"

"Where do you think all the other tributes are?"

"Sleeping maybe. Hiding like we all are."

"And the Careers?"

He shivers. "Probably hunting someone right now."

"We haven't heard a cannon. Do you think they'll come in our direction?"

"We haven't heard them yet so I doubt it." He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "I really hope they aren't killing someone right now."

"I guess we'll know in the morning."

He holds his hand out to me and I hold on tight. As we continue to guard our friends, I can't stop myself from looking over at him, wanting nothing more than to feel his lips on mine once again.

Haymitch Abernathy

For a moment, all I feel is pure terror. Then, the thoughts start.

_How did Jack get caught? How can I save him? What am I going to do?_

Shimmer scoffs. "_Please don't kill me,_" she mocks, and then laughs. "This is the Hunger Games. What did you think we're going to do, invite you over for tea?"

All the Careers join in her laughter and I find myself standing with all my stuff on my back. I take a deep breath. I have to try and save Jack. How could I live with myself if I didn't? All I have to do is imagine Hayden in his place and I'm ready to jump over ti him, trying to reach the scared little boy from District 7 before the Careers can end his life.

"Now," Shimmer says as I spot a branch thick enough to land on. "Who wants to do the honors?"

I take a flying leap and clear the 5 meter distance easily, although I land heavily on the branch, scraping my elbow. I hiss, examining it as I pull myself up on the branch, already looking for the next one. It isn't too bad, I can manage.

Jack's hair is visible from here and I can see his silhouette as he backs away. "Please, please. I promise you won't have to deal with me. I'll probably find some other way to die anyway. Why tire yourselves now?" He's smart, trying to outsmart them even though he must be scared witless.

The next jump is easier and I manage not to get any scrapes. I hear one of the girls from District 2 speak. "Can I kill him? You took mine at the Bloodbath."

"No way, Alana," the girl's district partner says. I think her name is Gloria. "I want to do it."

Jack backs up until he hits the trunk of the tree I'm in. I see a shallow cut on his cheek and clench my fists, removing my bag to get weapons to defend him.

The Careers continue to argue as I do my best to arm myself with knives without them hearing me. It's only now that I realize just how many weapons they have. Nearly every single Career has a bulging backpack on their back and at least two weapons each. My stomach drops,_ is this how I'll die?_

For a second, I'm torn. There are so many Careers and I know that trying to fight them all would be a grave mistake. I can almost hear Hayden and Serena begging me not to do anything. But how could I leave Jack here to die? He's so young and if I play my cards right, maybe I can get us both out of harm's way alive. For now at least.

I stand ready to jump to the ground, wondering if every camera nearby is trained on me. Unless something worse is going on somewhere else, they must be. I silently hope no one notices how badly I'm shaking.

"You know what?" Shimmer twirls her axe in her hands. "This boy took my axe at training. I think I should get to kill him."

Jack's eyes dart desperately to the side, looking for an escape. "I said I was sorry!" he cries. "Please, don't."

She takes a step forward. "Maybe you should've thought of that before."

Before she can take another step towards him, I jump. I land in a crouch in front of Jack and straighten up, waving two of my knives in front of me. "Leave him alone!"

Jack gasps behind me. "Haymitch?" he whispers.

Shimmer groans. "Ugh, not you again."

I point a knife at her even though I have no idea how I'm going to kill her with all of her allies still around. "Yes, me. And don't you dare lay a hand on him."

She rolls her eyes. "Like some scum from District 12 could stop me." She looks over her shoulder and says, almost lazily. "Anyone want him?"

The two District 2 girls who had been arguing before, Alana and Gloria, eagerly step forward. "Jack," I hiss. "Run. Run now."

"No," I can hear the determination in his voice. "I'm not going to leave you."

I internally groan. "Jack, please. I can handle this. You got to go now, I'll join you." He can't stay. If he does, he'll be a distraction. Someone I have to protect while fighting for my life. "Go now!"

"No." His voice is firm. "I won't leave you."

I open my mouth to respond and almost miss the knife that comes for my face. I grab it out of the air in the nick of time, ignoring the way it digs into my palm and draws blood.

"Hey!" I grit my teeth. "Who threw that?"

One of the boys from District 4 holds up an impressive array of knives. "Watch it. There's more where that came from."

Shimmer swings her axe in my direction. "We only want the wimp. We don't need to deal with you now. You get 10 seconds to clear out."

I plant my feet into the ground. "Like you'd ever really let me go. I know you'll just wait to attack when my back's turned. I'm staying right here."

She shrugs. "I gave you a way out. Now, enough with all the chit chat, someone kill him!"

It's like her anger brought the rest of the Careers to life. Suddenly, a mob of teenagers are rushing at me, brandishing weapons. I push Jack out of the way as knives and arrows come flying at us. Most of them stick into the tree behind me but I curse as two knives stick into my thigh, knocking me to my knees.

I've only been distracted for about a second but it's enough time for two Careers, Alana and Velvet, to be in front of me, their weapons at the ready. My left leg is in agony and I'm surprised the pain doesn't bother me more. I force myself to my feet and Velvet attacks, his sword heading for my throat.

I duck and, while he yanks his sword from the tree, stick a knife into his ankle. He howls and goes down, leaving Alana to fight me. She swings her knife at me as I leap to my feet. The sharp blade catches my wrist, the same one that's still tinged with purple from earlier. I ignore the blood that spurts from it and swing my knife down and into her shoulder. I yank it out and her blood sprays my arm.

She screams in anger and backs away, clutching her shoulder. "I didn't think someone from 12 could fight like that."

"I didn't think you guys were so arrogant," I retaliate. "But hey, life is full of surprises."

Something, or rather someone, yanks my feet from underneath me and I go sprawling. I jump back up and sure enough, Velvet is in front of me again, this time joined by one of his District 4 allies. They both swing swords at me and I barely get out of the way in time. Spinning away, I manage to get another knife into the District 4 boy's back. He yells.

For a moment, I feel victorious but it only takes seconds for another Career to take his place. The fact that I'm heavily outnumbered begins to truly sink in and I start to back away, intending to grab Jack and run. I hear someone rush at me from behind and whip around, ignoring the flash of pain in my thigh. Taking a page from Velvet's book, I swing my leg and the girl from District 4 hits the ground hard. She lies there motionless but I don't hear a cannon. She's only knocked out.

I'm about to look for Jack when Alana, who I had almost forgotten about in the chaos, tackles me. My leg gives out and I hit the ground for what's probably the third time in the past five minutes. All the blood oozing from my leg can't be good news. I clamp a hand over the wound and Alana takes advantage of my distraction to pin me down, a knife to my throat.

"Haymitch!"

The scream is so full of terror and pain that without even realizing it, I've thrown Alana off me and am looking for the source of the cry. I spot Jack cornered by Shimmer, Gloria, and Chase. "Jack!" I lunge forward, pulling a knife from my bag, when Alana wrenches my hands behind me back.

"Let me go!" I shout as she pushes me into the ground and yanks my arms as hard as she can. I hear my shoulder grind against its socket and instantly feel lightheaded. My hand twists in her grasp and, with much pain on my part, get my knife through her palm. I try not to gag at the noise of the blade going through her bone.

I push her off me and take a step in Jack's direction, only to have her throw me against a tree. My skull cracks hard against the trunk and I stumble as the world spins around me.

When I look up, her knife has cut my arm and is now at my throat.

"Ready to say goodbye?" she asks, the coldness of the voice almost makes me shiver. "Any last words?"

I open my mouth to reply, probably with a snarky comeback, when a ear-piercing screams hits my ears. I know it's Jack just by the sound of it. From where I'm trapped, I have the perfect view of him struggling as Shimmer pushes him against a tree, much like I am now.

The knife I used to cut Alana before is still in my hand. "Let me go," I say as dangerously as I can, hoping she won't notice the way my voice shakes.

She laughs and the knife pierces my skin. I can feel a bead of blood well up where she's cut me. "Likely chance."

Jack cries out again, this time my name, and I look up and into his eyes, just in time to see Shimmer's axe cut through his chest.

For a moment, I swear I stop breathing. Then, his body hits the floor and he looks so much like my little brother that I freak.

I scream and struggle against Alana, who starts to cackle. "What's wrong? Did you like the little boy?"

My breath comes in short gasps and I'm sure my eyes are so wide I must look crazy. Before I've even realized what's happened, my arm swings up and the next moment, Alana has fallen against me, her throat cut wide open by my knife. My knees almost give out when her blood sprays against my face.

Gloria cries out for her district partner and starts towards me but a hand holds her back. The boy from her district says, "Wait. He's stronger than we thought."

I push Alana off me, my hands shaking. But then again, my whole body is shaking so it's not like anyone will care. Shimmer, who had been heading towards me with her bloodied axe, pauses as Alana's cannon goes off. She probably didn't think I'd kill one oh her allies and, if I'm being honest, I don't know how I did it either. The rest of the eight Careers are all watching from a distance. They must be scared of me. After all, I did just kill one of them. Although I don't know why they aren't all trying to ambush me. Sure, some of them are injured but they must know that I'd never survive an attack from all of them together. Maybe they simply don't want to tire themselves out.

I hear Jack gurgle something and Shimmer, being the only one still near him, tells him to be quiet and kicks him in the stomach. That does it.

I wrench myself towards her, shaking and shouting, and somehow manage to tackle the leader of the Careers to the ground. It doesn't last long, because all she has to do is punch me in the face and I catch sight of my hands drenched in blood. I freeze for just a moment but it's enough time for her to hit me in the head so hard that I sink into the ground, moaning.

Shimmer and the other Careers immediately leave, either deciding that I'm too much of a threat to fight or believing that I'm so injured that I'll just die right here and now. I don't know which one I want them to believe.

My head spins and I'm so dizzy that it takes Jack's weak voice calling my name to make me remember what just happened.

I somehow manage to stand and walk over to him. He's on the ground, soaked in blood. There's so much blood that I know he'll be dead soon and that there's nothing I can do about it. But the sight of him just laying there helplessly has me on my knees beside him, stroking his cheek.

"Hey," I whisper. My voice cracks. But I'm not crying. I have to try and stay strong. I can't be weak now.

"Haymitch," his voice is so frail that I hardly hear it. "Thanks," he wheezes. "For trying to help me."

I take a deep breath. "Sure," I croak. "Any time."

I can't help but think that it's my brother dying beside me. I grab a hold of his hand, trying to be of comfort in any way that I can.

His eyes fill with tears that I think are equally from pain and the realization that he's going to die soon. And in that moment, I wish I could destroy the Capitol, especially President Snow.

"Me and Rowan promised each other we'd try to win."

I still don't know how Rowan died and can only hope Jack didn't have to see it. "I'm sorry."

"You could win," he says, and there's some strength behind those words. "I think you could do it."

"Okay," I say, because what else can I say?

He smiles softly. "Promise?"

I think about my promise to my family and to Serena. There are so many people who want me to come home. "Promise."

"Can you do me a favour?"

"Anything."

"Reach into my pocket. There's something there."

I do as he says and try to get my hand into Jack's blood-slicked pocket. Eventually, I pull something out and hold it in front of his face. He smiles. "My big brother gave me that. Just before he went into his Games."

I take a closer look at the thing in my hand. It's a wooden toy, obviously carved to look like two boys, one older and one younger, holding hands. It's very well done as well. "It's beautiful." I know that District 7 only has three current victors, and all of them are way too old to have been in the Games when Jack was alive. His brother must be dead. This poor boy really has nothing left. "I'm sorry about your brother."

His hand reaches up to wrap around the toy and I let him take it from my grasp. The wood is soon covered in Jack's blood. He smiles sadly again and his eyes start to glaze . "I miss him so much. Do you think I'll see him again?"

I know that he's in the space between life or death so I see no harm in agreeing with him, even if I don't know the answer. "Of course, you will. He's right there, just waiting to see you again."

There it is again, that sweet, boyish smile. His harsh, desperate breathing from before has faded into nearly nothing and his eyes have completely glazed over. His hand, still clutching what must have been his token, drops to his side and he stills.

"Goodbye Jack," I choke as his cannon goes off. "I'll miss you."

He seems even younger in death. I can feel the tears threatening to start but I force them back, instead wrapping Jack's cold little fingers around his precious token and setting his hands over his bloodied chest. One look at his ruffled hair almost breaks me and I set about combing it with my fingers, the same way I did for Hayden back at home.

I'm suddenly aware of a camera focused on me. It only takes me glancing around to find one in a tree, blinking away at me, ready to capture my weakness. I give it my best cold-blooded stare. Because I'm furious. Furious that the Capitol has taken away this little boy's life, not to mention countless others, all for something that happened decades before we were born. Furious that Snow wants this to happen. Furious that the Capitol thinks the only thing that the districts are good for is giving up their children for their annual entertainment. That and supplying their never-ending supply of food and resources, so no one living in the Capitol has to lift a finger to get what they want.

Some sort of animal gives a shriek and I look up to see a hovercraft above me, waiting to collect Jack's lifeless body. For a moment, I'm tempted to stay where I am. Maybe they'll bring me too. But I shake my head at that. They'd probably just get some mutt to chase me away, and I've promised far too many people that I'd win to be killed by a mutt.

I almost can't bear leaving Jack all alone here. He didn't get anything from the Cornucopia and the Careers took Alana's stuff so all I have to do is wipe my bloody knives on the ground and stick them in my pack, which has remained mostly unharmed. For now, I'm not shaking or crying or screaming. Instead, there's some odd sense of numbness setting in around me. The world seems hazy and I can't pick out any details as I take one last look and Jack and stumble away.

I'm still oddly numb as I walk. I just walk under the probably fake night sky, not even knowing what I'm doing. I guess looking for a new spot to stay in.

Finally, I stop when my legs begin to ache and barely manage to get myself up into a tree. I have no idea where I am and when I turn around to look for the hovercraft, I realize it must have gone a long time ago, taking Jack with it.

It's with that realization that I start to shake. And of course, once I start, there's no stopping. I'm in some weird limbo between numbness and panic and can't decide which one is worse. I shiver violently and I realize later that I'm gasping for air. Then silent tears are running down my face and I can only hope that there are no cameras that have a perfect view of me right now. Because after seeing me break down like this, I don't think anyone in the Capitol with a working brain would sponsor me. But honestly I could care less.

For the next few hours, or however long it is, I'm shaking and breaking down completely, the Games finally having caught up with me. I don't know how I fall asleep but eventually I do, my sleep tainted with visions of blood and death.

Maysilee Donner

Mazie gasps in awe when she sees the loaf of bread William and I had received the night before. Miller explains that it's a fancy bread they make in District 9, only enjoyed by commoners on very special occasions. Because of this, the five of us devour the loaf for breakfast, knowing that we have enough food in our packs and that we should be well fed for today. There's a sense of foreboding in the air, knowing we all survived the first day but have many more days ahead of us amkes us want to enjoy the little things while we still can.

I can't help but blush every time William meets my eyes. He seems to be having the same problem as we both do everything in our power to look in opposite directions. The knowledge of just what happened yesterday is pretty overwhelming. Although I'd like nothing more than to have his lips on mine again, I know we can't afford to be distracted, no matter how good that distraction may feel.

The mood isn't entirely happy though. We all try not to look at the boot that had arrived in the parachute for Leila, minutes after her death. I guess the Reynald and the District 9 and 10 mentors had arranged the parachute before they died, because why else would they send something we have no use for now. The sight of it makes my heart twinge with sadness and I can't help but think of the sweet, green-eyes girl who was far too innocent to be in these Games.

"So, what's the plan for today?" William asks as we finish up the bread. It truly is delicious and something I would happily eat everyday if I could.

"I guess just stay away from the Careers," I say. "And maybe try to find some water."

"Everything here must be poisoned," Ana says. "We can't risk it." I know she still feels bad about not noticing the fruit Leila wanted would kill her. "We'll have to rely on our packs. And whatever our mentors send us."

"That makes sense," Mazie says. "I guess we could just stay here for now then. We won't run into anyone that way."

Everyone agrees with this idea.

"But we should keep walking," Ana says. "We're trying to get up the mountain. We'll have more cover that way."

William agrees. "Good point. We'll just take care not to run into anyone."

So we pack up, ultimately deciding to leave Leila's boot where we are, are head farther up the mountain. I guess I'm the only one who still thinks there's something odd about it so I leave it. I must be being paranoid.

To pass the time, we share stories back from our districts and talk about everything we miss back home. I learn that Ana is an orphan, abandoned at birth because her parents either couldn't afford to keep her or because they just didn't want her. We all offer our condolences but she shrugs them off, stating that she couldn't care less and that she's sure they would have been awful parents anyway. It's an odd thing to think but I shrug it off.

Miller and Mazie reveal that their mom died giving birth to their little sister and that the three of them are raised by their dad and uncle. Their dad, wrecked by the loss of his wife, sometimes shuts himself away in his room and doesn't come out for weeks. Other times, he's abusive and mean. Their uncle, who was their mom's brother, is kind and gentle. Mazie shows us her token, a yellow hair ribbon that belonged to their mother and I can't help but feel a pang of emotion. We've all suffered too much in this world.

William surprises me by opening up about his brother Rye, who he refused to talk about to anyone except me before, and how his family has never been the same since. I can't help but feel a little guilty. Out of everyone here, perhaps I've had the best life leading up to these Games. But we're all hear together so I guess there's that.

In an effort to lighten up the mood, we all start talking about our favourite things from our District. A lot of things get mentioned. Special traditions, foods, and places make the top list. I find myself wishing that we got to learn more about the other districts at school. Mazie talks in great detail about a meadow covered in flowers behind their house that I would have loved to see.

We're all still talking happily when Miller, who has been the quietest of us all so far, suddenly freezes and brings his arm out, stopping us all in our tracks. "Did anyone here that?"

I frown as we all fall silent, straining for any noise. "Hear what?"

"I heard something. Like a branch snapping. And footsteps."

We all listen for a couple more minutes, the relaxed mood from before turning more panicked and on edge.

Ana pulls a knife from her pack but leaves it at her side. "I don't hear anything. Maybe you're just nervous."

Mazie's face has whitened. "He has great instincts. He's never wrong about this sort of stuff." I find myself desperately hoping that she's wrong.

"We should pick up the pace," William suggests, and I can see the anxiety on his face. "Nothing good can happen if we're being followed." He turns back to the mountain, which we've almost reached the base of. "Come on."

The four of us have just turned around when I hear something whistle behind me. Without thinking, I grab Mazie and William, who are the closest to me and yank us to the ground, yelling, "Watch out!"

I see Ana duck beside us but Miller cries out in surprise. I look up as he stumbles and see a long dagger lodged into his pack.

"Miller!" Mazie fights my grasp and rushes to help her brother up. He quickly insists that he's fine, just startled.

"Who's there?" William shouts into the trees. "Show yourself!"

I find that my darts and blowgun have sprung into my hands, ready to strike an opponent. I wonder who it is and find myself hoping that it isn't the Careers.

The four teens who step out from the trees aren't the Careers, but seem terrifying in their own right.

Two older boys from district 3 and 5 carry a sword and daggers respectively. The remaining girl from District 6, who's about my age, carries a bow while the last girl, who's from District 7 and taller than Ana, wields a silver axe. A shiver runs up my spine as the five of us back away.

"I remember them from Training," William murmurs in my ear. "I thought it was weird that they sat together, instead of with their district's. They all got pretty decent training scores as well."

It's just like William, I think. To have remembered such small facts that would come in handy later. Ana holds up one of her many knives. "What do you want with us?"

The boy from 5, who I guess is the leader of the group, laughs. "You could've joined us," he says to Ana. "But we figured that if the Careers rejected you, we wouldn't have a use for you either." Ana flushes but glares silently.

The girl from Seven grins maniacally. "As to why we're here. You guys may have a lot of members, but it's pretty easy to tell that you aren't skilled. We're here to kill you, of course."

William, our negotiator, holds up his hands. "We are stronger than we seem and don't want to fight. Leave us alone and you'll find yourself unharmed."

The first one is an obvious lie. I think. It's true that we can all, with the exception of Mazie who's arm is still bandaged, wield a weapon. However, I doubt we are as skilled as these four. The second is truer. We will gain nothing by engaging in a fight with them. Not that they'd care.

The four of them laugh and rush towards us. I barely have time to shove Mazie out of the way before an arrow sticks into the ground behind us.

Ana takes on the boy from 5, their weapons being the closest to matching. Miller and the boy from 3 charge at each other, Miler's shorter knives clashing with the boy's long sword. Mazie backs away, knowing that even without her injury, she wouldn't last a moment in a fight.

William and I end up back to back against the two girls. I fumble with my darts, not wanting to use them unless I have to, knowing that wasting them would be fatal, especially since the darts themselves won't kill, just injure. The girl from 7 throws her axe at us and it just barely misses my head, going to fly into the tree behind us. I notice that the tree is covered in pink, most likely poisonous, fruit.

As she retrieves her axe, her ally keeps us busy by shooting an arrow at our heads. I jump back and without letting myself overthink it, send a dart at her arm. She shrieks and leaps back, clutching the injured arm to her chest but I know that I haven't really injured her. Beside me, William is fighting the girl from 7, trying to defend himself with a knife.

The girl from 6, despite her injury, sends an arrow at Ana, who has to leap aside. Leila's fear-stricken face as she realized the fruit she had was poisonous suddenly comes to my mind. Then, Iris's words at the Justice Building: _Just Improvise. _I grab one of the deadly fruits from the tree which the axe had flown into and without getting juice on my hands, dip the tips of my darts into the poisoned liquid. Poisoned darts.

I spin around to call for William but I hear another call instead.

Miller is backing away quickly, his knife on the floor behind the boy from 3. He's weaponless. A sense of horror goes through me and I'm about to aim a dart at the boy to protect my ally when I hear Mazie shout. She runs up to Miller, ignoring the boy from 3, and tosses him a knife. He gives her such an affectionate smile , even in a battle, that makes me miss Maylene with a passion. The wistful smile that comes to my mouth is quickly replaced by a gape of pure terror when the boy from 3 sneaks up behind Mazie and swings his sword through her neck, decapitating her with one blow.

Miller screams.

Everyone freezes and turns to where Mazie's headless body is crumpling to the floor, her blood splattering over her brother's face. My heart drops and I hear William cry out behind me as her cannon goes off. And Miller doesn't stop screaming. He's flailing around, shouting his sister's name. The boy from 3 looks taken aback, almost confused.

Either taking pity on Miller now that he's acting like a lunatic, or maybe even thinking that he's dangerous, the boy starts to back away when the girl from 7 shouts. "Just kill him!"

He raises his sword and when Miller sees his sister's blood still on it, he howls and drops to the floor, tugging at Mazie's lifeless hand, telling her to run before the monsters get her. Tears make their way up my throat and I almost don't hear William shout. "Maysilee, duck!"

I do and a knife goes flying far above my head. The boy from 3 doesn't notice, still intent on killing Miller, and the knife sticks into his back. He spins around and a second one hits him in the heart. His cannons sounds seconds after he hits the ground.

I scramble to my feet and look behind me. Sure enough, Ana's two knives are gone from her hands. I guess they're in the boy's body now. Something about that makes me feel nauseous but I know she was only protecting our ally. I turn to William, meaning to asses our team and thank him for the heads-up. He gives me a devastated look, not noticing that the girl from 7 has her axe raised sky high, ready to drive it into his back.

A panic like no other seizes me. "William!" I shriek. And without thinking about it, without worrying that my darts are truly deadly now, without even thinking about the fact that I'm about to kill someone, I aim and fire a dart into the girl's neck.

She screeches in pain, her eyes bulging. And it's almost as if she's eaten the fruit that I've injected into her bloodstream. Blood spurts from her mouth and she gives one small cough before collapsing to the ground. All I can do is stare at the girl whom I've just killed.

William's hand touches my shoulder as the cannon goes off, bringing me out of my shock. I spin around, looking for the boy from 5 and the girl from 6. William shakes his head. "They left as soon as you killed the girl. I guess we're stronger than they'd thought."

The word "killed" makes my legs shake and almost give out. I can hear William beside me but I can't make out what he's saying. As though from a distance, I see Ana walk over to Miller, coaxing him to stand. He won't stop screaming, as though he's in terrible pain. The sound of it threatens to shatter my skull. It's the sound of heart-breaking grief and terror, something I hope I never experience.

I start when William's lips graze over mine. Only then do I realize that I actually have fallen to the floor and that he's helping me up. "Maysilee," he says softly.

"I'm okay," I whisper shakily because how bad can my pain be to Miller's?

We head closer, careful to avoid all the bodies, and look at Ana, who's frowning.

"He won't stop," she says. "I don't get it. What happened to him?"

"His sister just died, Ana," William leans down beside Miller. "In front of him and in the most gruesome way possible. He must be in shock."

I lean down beside William but look at Mazie's body instead. I can't help but realize that our group is being killed off rather quickly. Tears are streaming down my face but I ignore them, untying Mazie's hair ribbon from her head, playing with it in my hands. I have the urge to braid her curly, red hair and sing to her, but I know we have to clear out. And take care of Miller.

He's still screaming, even though his voice is growing hoarse. His eyes are squeezed shut and he's trembling on the ground. I've seen this happen in Games before, where tributes go crazy. It's a rare occurrence and I desperately hope that that isn't what happened to Miller.

I touch his shoulder. "Miller." He doesn't respond. So I do the next thing that comes to mind. I place his dead sister's hair ribbon in his hand. He freezes and examines the ribbon. Instead of going back to pieces, he smiles softly and starts mumbling about meadows, uncles, and family.

We try to engage him for 5 minutes until we see the hovercrafts above us. When Miller sees it, he shrieks but follows us in standing and gathering our things. I take one last look at Mazie's body before we turn away. Soon enough, Miller's mumbling is back and his eyes have glazed over completely.

Ana shoulders a pack and says, "We have to do something."

William shakes his head sadly and confirms what I feared. "There's no point. He's cracked."

* * *

**I'm so sorry it took me literally a month to update this. I was just really busy and I feel super bad about it. I'll try to get the next one out in a few days to make up for it. This chapter reached just over 8K words, which really shocked me. Hopefully the length makes up for the time it took to get it out there. In case anyone is confused as to what time frame this chapter takes place in, up to Jack's death is day 1 at night and the last part with Mazie's death happens during the morning of day 2. The next chapter will be the rest of day 2 and day 3. Stay tuned!**


	18. Second Day

Chapter 18: Second Day

Haymitch Abernathy

I don't know how long I sleep for, only that it's morning when three cannons sound, within minutes of each other, awakening me with a cry.

Not having had the thought to tie myself in a tree the night before, I fall out, landing hardly on my stomach, my pack crushing me. The pack feels heavier than before and seems to crush my chest, restricting my oxygen.

The cannons go off in my ears again and again. Like haunting music.

_Boom. Boom. Boom._

Without warning, I'm sent back in my nightmares. My father buried under the mines. Me trying to save him. Him dying in front of me. My mom slowly retreating into her own mind. Hayden's bony figure looking sadly at my father's spot at the dining table. The small funeral that was held for him. The endless pain and horror.

Now, new thoughts take over and I find myself gasping, choking, trying in vain to breathe. It doesn't work. My heart is slamming in my chest, and I'm curled up in a ball on the grassy floor, my face hidden. Except for my hushed gasps, I'm silent. Even in my panic-stricken state, I'm thankful for that. No need in all of Panem seeing me break down.

Jack comes to my mind. The life leaving his eyes. The axe in his chest. The blood. All that blood. He morphs into Hayden. My little brother lying in front of me, dying slowly and painfully. Everything I've always tried to protect him from, happening to him anyway.

My vision is basically black and I'm only slightly aware of my hands clawing at my chest. I can't help it. It _hurts. _It hurts so bad that, for a few muddled moments, I actually think I'm dying. _Would that be so bad?_ Not dying in a fight, not saving another tribute. Just lying here in a little ball.

I want to give up. Everything hurts and is too overwhelming. It's too much.

But then I remember the reason I'm still going. The reason I _have _to win. Hayden. I'd do anything, endure _everything, _to keep him alive and well. Jack may be dead but my brother is still alive. He's still out there, waiting for me to come home.

The knowledge that Hayden is probably watching me right now makes me want to spring back up into my tree like nothing happened. I try but I don't get any further than moving an inch before I remember my problem. I still can't breathe.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I force myself to calm down. I've done this before, because of course this very same thing has happened before. I remember the countless hours I'd spend locked up in my room, gasping and choking and crying. Then, forcing myself to breathe. Because how could I go to pieces? I couldn't afford to. I had my mom and my baby brother depending on me. They _needed _me. And I couldn't let them down.

Especially not now.

I make myself remember how I calmed myself then but I draw up a blank. It wasn't as though I had a specific strategy. Just force myself to move on. I'm at a loss of what to do and I can feel the panic slowly starting up again. My fingernails dig into my palms.

Then, I remember two things at once. The first being the day before the interviews. Me freaking myself out by overthinking Reynald's words about being blown up. Maysilee had helped me out that day when I had freaked out. We had talked, which usually would have not helped at all, but for some reason, talking about my family grounded me in a way that helped me calm down.

My second memory comes full force, sending me back into the very day it happened.

_Hayden is finally asleep. For more than a few hours anyway. His body must have collapsed from pure exhaustion._

_I tuck in our only blanket around his sleeping form, wishing I could protect him from our new reality._

_But I can't. And I know that._

_I pass my mother's room on the way downstairs. She's sitting at the edge of her bed, staring out in front of her. It's what she's been doing for the past week. Ever since we found out that—_

_I look down quickly, my hands tremble at my sides. _No, _I won't think about that. I can't. I know if I think about my father for even a moment, I'll go to pieces the same way Hayden and my mom have._

_And I can't afford to do that. They both need me now._

_"Darling."_

_My head shoots up. My mother has changed her position and is walking towards me. I freeze. She stops just a foot or so away from me._

_"Darling," she breathes. The first sound I've heard her make this whole week. This first sound she's made since she screamed after learning that her husband was killed._

_My breath hitches in my throat. "Mom," I say, my voice wavering. "Are you okay? Can I get you something?"_

_Her hand moves towards me and, for some reason, I flinch. She doesn't notice. There's a dreamy-like smile on her face and her eyes are almost glazed over._

_"You're home," she sighs. "They all said you had died. While at work. It's crazy, isn't it? I didn't believe them. And now you're back. I missed you so much."_

_Her tone sounds like she's talking in her sleep. But that isn't what makes me freeze. Or makes the air leaves my lungs and my legs shake. It's that she thinks she's talking to her husband._

_She thinks I'm my dad._

_I stumble backwards, stopping just shy of the stairs. My mom frowns softly. "I've missed you." She mumbles. "You don't want to see me?"_

_I've realize that she must be sleep-walking, but it doesn't stop me from shaking. "I'm not—" I choke out, gasping. "I'm not him. I'm not Dad."_

_Her eyes droop closed but there's still a slight frown etched on her face. 'What are you talking about? You're right here."_

_A wave of emotions crash into me, so intense that even I don't know what I'm feeling. All I know is that I can't bear to look at my mother anymore. I can't hear her talk to my dad like he's still alive. I can't take it._

_She takes a step forward and, in attempt to stop whatever her next words are, I shout, "Stop! Dad's dead. He's dead and he's not ever coming back. Pull yourself together!"_

_My mother stops dead and I struggle to catch my breath. Even though it's winter, I feel flashes of heat ripping through me. My head swims and I'm faintly surprised that I'm still on my feet._

_A million expressions appear on my mom's face but finally she just turns around, heading back into her room. She settles herself on a chair and continues her staring._

_I think I may be sick._

_"Haymitch?" A sleepy voice mumbles. "What's going on?"_

_Hayden is standing just outside his room, frowning at me._

_"Nothing." I fight to keep my voice even. "Go back to sleep, Hayden."_

_I manage to keep a fake smile on my face until my baby brother disappears back into his room._

_Then, I'm a shaking, gasping mess. I feel as though the room is closing in on me, sucking all the air out as it goes. My legs shake and then I'm stumbling down the stairs, desperate to leave the house._

_I stagger outside, the cold winds actually welcome for once. I fall to my knees in the snow, trying to breathe in the crisp winter air._

_It doesn't work._

_Silent tears are streaming down my face. My heart thuds quickly in my chest. I squeeze my eyes shut tightly but then all I see is images of my dad behind my eyelids. _

_I briefly wonder if I'm going crazy. I wouldn't be surprised._

_The cold slowly seeps through my ripped pants and I force my eyes open. The only other people outside are two frail-looking kids. Just two of the many orphans that inhabit the streets of the Seam. They look at me with wide eyes. I want to help them, I really do. But I have no way to. I can't even help myself._

_Unable to bear it, I find myself running, stumbling really, away from my house. I don't even know where I'm going. I just need to get away from it all._

_I stagger through the cold for a couple of minutes before a pair of hands wrap around my shoulders, stopping me in my tracks._

_"Haymitch? Oh, Haymitch, come inside. You must be freezing." It's Serena, a girl in my class at school._

_I flinch away from the touch of this girl who I hardly know but her arms are firm as she walks me up to a house and brings me inside._

_I collapse onto the floor and she barely catches me. "Haymitch? What's wrong? What are you doing?"_

_Usually, I wouldn't have talked to a kid in my class who I barely knew. I didn't talk much at school, preferring to stay by myself. But Serena was the kind of person who was friendly with everyone. The bright light all the teachers adored._

_"Haymitch?" She asked again. "Are you alright?"_

_I barely managed to shake my head. _

_I could almost hear the frown in her voice. "Is this about your dad? I'm so sorry—"_

_"No," I gasp. "Don't. I can't—I can't think about that. Please—"_

_She makes a soft noise of realization. A second later, a warm mug is being placed in my hand. When the tea inside starts to spill because of my shaking hands, she removes it and places it on the floor beside me. _

_Her arm wraps around my shoulders and I don't flinch. She rubs my back. "You're okay, I promise. Come on, Haymitch. Breathe with me, you can do it. It'll be alright."_

My eyes snap open as the memory fades away. I hadn't even realized that I had them closed. I take a slow, deep breath, remembering the way a twelve-year-old Serena had calmed me down that day. We became quick friends after that and I visited her house every week. She always knew whenever I was feeling down and when to give me space. But she also knew how to make me smile when no one else could.

In return, I helped her as well. When kids in our class started to bully her, I quickly got them to back off. Two years ago, when her mother had lost the baby girl she was carrying, I had held her as she sobbed in my arms. That was the day that we first kissed. We both knew that fourteen was a little young, but in a world where the Games existed, time was never _ever_ taken for granted.

My hands stop shaking and I slowly feel my breath coming back to me. I stumble a little as I stand, stretching out my muscles from my fall, which feels as though it happened years ago.

I have no idea how long I'd been lying on the floor for. Ten minutes? Half an hour? An hour? It felt like half a second and an eternity all at the same time.

I'm angry at myself. _How could I go to pieces like that? _I know that the combination of Jack's death, me watching it, and those cannons just a while ago must have triggered me somehow, turning me into a shaking mess.

The sun is shining brightly in the sky and I guess it to be about midday. Maybe those three cannons had happened just ten or so minutes ago. I really have no way of figuring out. It doesn't really matter but a part of me wants to know the exact details of everything going on.

I figure that it'd be best to stay where I am for now. There's no point in venturing around for no reason. I have everything I need. Running into another tribute is the last thing I need right now.

It's only when I move towards the tree I slept in last night that I remember my injuries from yesterday. My left leg gives out and I stumble, falling hard against the tree's trunk.

I grimace, sliding down to look at my thigh. The fabric is ripped where those knives dug into it. There's a lot of dried blood but it doesn't seem life-threatening. Just very inconvenient.

I assess the rest of my body. My hand is fully healed from that butterfly's sting, which is lucky. My shoulder aches but shouldn't be too much of an issue. There's a shallow but fairly long cut on my right arm and a smaller cut on my left wrist. Neither are bleeding, which I take as a good sign.

My leg is the only worrying issue. It throbs dully as I climb back up my tree and I frown, wishing Reynald could send something to heal it. I briefly wonder if he's helping us like I thought he would. Maybe he's helping Maysilee and William. He did seem to like them more than he liked me. Even after all the talks we had.

It's only when I decide to double check my pack that I realize I have a much bigger issue to deal with. I curse as I double check the pack, opening all the pockets and taking things out to count. I dump everything onto my lap, staring at the stuff I find remaining.

At least half of the contents, mostly the food, have disappeared.

Maysilee Donner

Miller hasn't stopped screaming. It started up again only a few minutes after Mazie's hovercraft left the arena. It isn't loud screaming. It's more wailing and choked out cries. But still, it's loud enough that it remains a miracle that no one has found us yet.

Ana groans, "Is there no way to make him be quiet?"

I frown. Ana has been acting more and more annoyed since the Games started. At first I'm suspicious but then I shake my head. We're all under stress and our group is slowly being killed off. It makes sense for her to be on edge.

I hear William behind me, checking to make sure no one else is following us. "He doesn't even hear us, Ana." His tone sounds defeated. "I don't think we can do anything to help him."

"He's gone mad." She sounds cross.

"He's traumatized," I say as William turns back around. "That's all."

Miller doesn't show any sign that he realizes we're talking about him. He's rocking on the floor, hands over his ears. His wails have thinned out but still manage to pierce my heart.

I sigh. "He must be in so much pain."

William agrees. "Poor Mazie."

Even Ana can't stay mad while we're talking about our fallen ally. "She was so young."

I feel tears work their way up to my eyes and quickly wipe them away. William notices anyway and leans down to kiss my cheek. I give him a watery smile.

"Hold on," Ana brings her hands up. "When did all this," she waves her hands in front of my face, "happen?"

William's cheeks turn pink. "Last night," he mumbles.

She smiles sadly. "I should have guessed it. You two are awfully cute together."

Me and William exchange a look. Probably because we are both painfully aware that we both can't make it out of here. Miller is our living proof of that.

"So, what are you guys now?" Ana asks. "Boyfriend and girlfriend? Were you guys dating before the Games or something?"

It's my turn to blush. "Well, I had a crush on him since forever and—"

Miller's wails suddenly cut off and the three of us whip around, weapons flying into our hands. But he's unharmed, looking up at us with wide eyes.

"What was that?" William says, bewildered. "Why'd he stop?"

I scan our surroundings and, when I see nothing, shake my head in confusion. "Maybe he's tired himself out. Or he could've just stopped for no reason. We don't have a way of knowing what he's thinking."

"I guess it's a good thing," Ana says. "Now we don't have to worry about some other tributes finding us because he's so loud."

"What should we do now?"

Ana shrugs. "Keep heading for the mountain? We can set up camp when we find a good spot."

We organize our stuff first. We split up the food, water, and supplies equally into all our packs, just in case we get separated. Me and William split up Miller's knives, knowing they'll be more useful with us then with him.

It takes a good ten minutes to get Miller to stand. William keeps a tight grip on the older boy's wrist as we head for the mountain. I know we'll be able to reach it before the end of the day and find myself excited to have a permanent camp. It means more rest and less of a chance of running into other tributes. With our group the way it is, we need all the peace we can get.

My blow gun remains by my side as we walk and I notice that Ana has her knives tightly gripped as well. William carries the long dagger that the boy from District 5 had thrown into Miller's pack this morning. His other hand holds Miller even as the other boy tries to veer off track, humming under his breath. We're all aware that we could be attacked at any given moment.

I try not to think about Mazie and Leila, both of whom had such awful, premature deaths. It's so unfair that they will never get to live another day. Never smile or laugh again.

"You okay?" William's voice whispers into my ear. His face is etched with concern.

"I'm fine," I say, wishing that the two of us could be alone. "Just thinking about the girls."

William knows who I'm talking about, even understanding my reluctancy to say their names. "I'll miss them."

I look at the hair ribbon that Miller holds onto desperately. "Me too."

Miller seems to sense my gaze and looks up at me, the corners of his mouth twitching. Almost like he wants to say something but isn't quite sure how to get it out.

I frown and nudge William. "Do you think he'll get better?" I whisper, nodding at Miller.

William sighs. "I don't know. I want to say yes but I really don't think so." His voice trails off. "It's not fair for him to have had to see that."

"It's not fair that it had to happen at all," I say bitterly, keeping my voice quiet. I know that that isn't something the Capitol would be happy to hear me say.

Ana, who had been walking ahead of us, backtracks to stand beside me. "He hasn't spoken yet, has he?"

We all look over at Miller. He's twisting the ribbon in his hands and whispering under his breath furiously. His eyes are unfocused and I wonder if he's even aware that he's walking with us.

"No," William says. "It's either screaming or muttering I can't understand."

I go over to Miller's other side and put my head near his. Ana and William give me confused looks but I put a finger to my lips, motioning for them to be quiet. I try and listen to what Miller is saying. I want to know what is going through his mind.

"Run. Run. Run. Monsters coming for your head. Run. Run. Run. Monsters coming for my head. Run. Run. Run. Soon, we'll all be dead."

I shiver.

"What is it?" Ana demands. "What's he saying?"

I shake my head. "It sounds like a chant almost." I repeat Miller's words to them and watch as a look of horror passes William's face.

"That's awful," he says sadly. "Poor Miller."

"What do you think Miller would want us to do?" Ana says, her voice makes it clear that she's given this question some thought.

William's confused tone matches my thoughts. "What do you mean?"

"Like if we asked Miller yesterday what he'd want us to do if he went crazy, what do you think he would've said?"

We exchange a glance. "I don't know," I say. "He'd probably want to know why we thought he'd be going crazy any time soon."

"And knowing him," William says, "he'd want us to help Mazie. If he didn't know that she would be dead."

"That's just it," Ana frowns. "He'd want us to help Mazie, and help ourselves too. And keeping him with us isn't really helping us right now."

There's a brief moment of silence as me and William understand what Ana means.

"You don't mean we just abandon him, do you?" William asks slowly.

Ana flushes, a fire coming to her eyes. "He'd want us to have a chance at winning. If neither him or Mazie could win."

"We're not leaving him," I say firmly and William nods. "He'd never do that to us."

The fire is gone just as quickly. "Of course," she says, looking down. "I don't know what I was thinking. We can't leave him alone. I'm sorry. I should have never even thought of that..."

There's the Ana I've grown used to.

"It's alright," William says, patting her shoulder. "I know we're all just getting stressed out right now, since so many of us are dying so quickly. We get why you would've thought about that." I secretly wonder if we really do understand. But I agree with William, too many of us are dying too quickly.

We continue heading for the mountain and it's a good minute before I wonder something. "How many of us are left?"

William starts counting on his hand. "Well, there was 20 yesterday, including Leila—" his voice catches and he swallows hard. "And today there was the boy from 3, the girl from 7, and Mazie." His voice hitches again slightly and he sighs.

I'm about to move to comfort him when a wail cuts through the air. Miller, no doubt having been triggered by the sound of his sister's name, has begun to scream again. He crumples to the floor and his hands shoot to cover his ears.

The three of us exchange helpless glances as his screams get louder.

"Miller," I say, crouching down. "It's okay, you're okay."

"The monsters are coming!" Miller shouts and we all jump. These are the first words he's said since Mazie's death. "Run!"

"Don't worry, Miller," William says soothingly, crouching down beside me. "There are no monsters. They're not going to hurt you."

"No! They will! They're coming to chop of our heads!"

"The monsters have gone away already," he says. "They've left a long time ago. We're safe now, I promise."

I'm glad William has two little sisters. It means that he's great at comforting people.

But Miller only looks slightly convinced. He's stopped screaming but he's still trembling. He looks up at William, his eyes dilated with fear. "The monsters have gone away?"

The terror in his voice makes my stomach twist. I think of the boy from yesterday: strong, smart, and ready to protect all of us. Now he's been reduced to a frightened child, who can't even tell what's real and what isn't.

It crushes me.

"Yes," William answers, still using the same quiet voice. "The monsters are gone now. Come with us. They won't be able to find us then."

A million expressions cross Miller's face and, for a moment, I fear that he's going to start screaming again. But instead, he nods, his eyes still feverishly bright, and stands. I notice Mazie's ribbon tied around his wrist tightly like a bracelet. Then, I almost gag when I notice for the first time that one end of the yellow ribbon is spotted with blood. Mazie's blood.

I point it out to William quietly as Miller finds his footing. William shakes his head, knowing that to bring it up could send Miller into another frenzy of screaming and panic.

We start walking again, careful not to mention Mazie's name again.

"Wait, so 23 are dead?" I ask, realizing that we didn't really get to finish our conversation from before.

"Yeah," William agrees. Then he laughs humourlessly. "That must be some sort of record."

Ana frowns. "In a normal year, the victor would have been crowned by now."

We're quiet as it sinks in that the odds are really not in anyone's favour this year.

"Wait." Ana says suddenly. "I heard two cannons last night. After the anthem."

William pauses for a moment, then nods his head. "Right. I'd almost forgotten about that."

"Wait, what?" I ask. "When did that happen? I don't remember."

"You were asleep." Me and William had traded off shifts throughout the night. After grieving Leila's death together, we had both been exhausted. "I didn't want to ruin the mood this morning by mentioning it. Especially since we had gotten that bread."

I flush. Right. The bread. That we got after we kissed.

William seems to notice my blush because his cheeks are tinged pink as well.

Ana glances between us with a small smirk on her face. "Something tells me that there is more to this _bread_ that I'm getting to know about."

William brings the conversation back again. "So, you heard the two cannons as well?"

Ana shrugs. "They woke me up. I wasn't sleeping too well anyway." I know Ana must think that she played a part in Leila's death.

"So, that means 25 are dead," I say slowly. That's more dead in two days now than would be dead during the entirety of a normal Game.

"They're really burning through us," Williams says. No one has to be reminded who _they_ are.

I shake my head. "Not really. 22 more of us still have to die for a victor to be crowned."

We're all quiet after that.

A conversation doesn't start back up again until we hit the base of the mountain. It's evening by then. I know because the sun is much lower in the sky, almost to the point of setting. But the temperature is still the same. Maybe it's even gotten hotter.

I look up at the mountain as William and Ana look for a close yet concealing spot for us to stay.

"Are you guys absolutely sure about us staying here?" I ask, wondering why this mountain makes me so on-edge.

"Yes," Ana says. "What's wrong with it?"

I shrug. "I just have a bad feeling about it, that's all."

William comes to squeeze my hand and drops a kiss on my cheek. "Maysilee, don't worry. This seems like the safest place in the Arena."

"That's just it," I say. "Why would the Gamemakers provide us with somewhere so seemingly safe. Especially since they seem to be trying to kill us off in every other way."

They both frown. "You have a point," Ana says slowly. "But we don't really have another choice. We already came all the way here and I don't think we have enough energy to find a new spot."

She's right. Now that we've stopped walking, I've noticed just how tired I am. And thirsty. I try to get some saliva into my dry mouth. "How much water do we have left?"

"A bottle and a half." William opens his pack. "I hope we get sent water soon. I don't know how long our supply will last."

"Yeah," Ana agrees. "It's not getting any cooler."

"So," I say, scanning the base of the mountain. "Where should we set up?"

"I was thinking somewhere near the middle," William says. "That way we can—Miller, don't touch that!"

I whip around as William lunges towards Miller, who has his hand reached out to a bush. At first, I'm confused. Then, I spot a magenta butterfly fluttering near Miller's hand.

"It's just a butterfly," I start, then jump back with a shriek.

A swarm of butterflies shoot from the bush, heading straight for the four of us. Buzzing fills the air within seconds.

"Run!" I cry, stumbling backwards.

William grabs Miller's hand and yanks him forwards. The four of us sprint as fast as we can, desperate to get away from the butterflies—which I'm sure are the Capitol's mutts—behind us.

Ana is in front of me, leading the way up the mountain. She's running in complicated patterns, no doubt trying to steer the mutts away from us. It's a clever strategy but it means that we are running much more than we need to. And we're all exhausted.

I can hear William and Miller stumbling behind me. Miller lets out a wail and I turn to see him on his knees, William unsuccessfully trying to pull him to his feet. The butterflies have almost reached him.

"What happened?" I yell, running to William's side.

"I don't know." William yanks on Miller's arm. "He won't get up!"

"Did he get stung?"

"I don't think so. Maybe he's scared?"

There's a swarm of pinks and purples as the butterflies descend on the three of us. The buzzing soon fills my ears. I wince and swat my hands around, not wanting to get stung.

The mutts have surrounded us and I distantly hear Miller scream. I try and turn to see him, but stumble, falling oddly to the side. A twinge of pain shoots up my calf.

I hit the ground on all fours, wincing. I watch as all the butterflies head towards the two boys, struggling a few feet away from me. As they surround them, William yells out in shock and leaps backwards, finally yanking Miller to his feet.

I struggle to my feet and grab Miller's other arm, pulling as hard as I can. He stumbles and the three of us start to run again. Ana's stopped for us but when she sees that we're following, she continues to run.

We've just started to follow her when I notice something strange. The buzzing sound softens and then disappears completely. The mutts have retreated.

I'm panting. "What was that all about?"

William bends over, clutching at his side. "Maybe the Gamemakers think we've had it too easy." There's a note of bitterness in his voice.

"Maybe they were hiding there, waiting for someone to find them." Ana says, having come down to stand beside us. "And Miller just triggered a switch or something like that."

"Well, they're gone now," I say, still trying to catch my breath. "Is everyone okay?"

"They didn't get me," Ana shrugs.

"I'm fine too," Williams says, shouldering his pack gingerly. "But I have a wicked cramp." He touches my hair, where it's coming undone, softly. "You're okay, right?"

I smile at his concern. "I'm okay." Another twinge in my leg reminds me of my fall and I grimace. "I think I may have hit my foot weird though."

William's expression turns to one of concern. "How bad is it?"

"Don't worry," I wave him away. "I can walk."

"Here," he pulls my pack from my back. "I'll take your bag."

"Miller," I hear Ana say. "Are you okay?"

I look over and see Miller's back on the ground, his hands clenched into fists.

"Is he hurt?" I ask Ana, examining him closer. I think of all the signs of distress Iris taught me about when we were younger. But he's different now, and I don't know if I can rely on my past knowledge to help him anymore.

"He's still acting crazy. But I don't think he got any new injuries."

William sighs. "That's good." He lends a hand to the other boy. "Come on, Miller. Let's get going."

Miller moves his hands around, gesturing at things that the rest of us can't see. Finally, he stands and takes William's hand.

"So, where should we set up?"

Ana points further up the mountain, somewhere near the middle. "I was thinking over there."

I groan. The mountain is huge and it'd probably take us another half hour to climb up there. Maybe even an hour.

But there's no better plan so we agree and head up the mountain to our new camp.

My foot twinges as we go but I know it's just a strain. Nothing to waste time thinking about. Especially not in the Hunger Games.

The sun is just about setting as we reach our new camp spot. Ana was right. It's a good spot. It's flat and decently big, enough for the four of us at least. We'll be squished but it's better than nothing. Tall shrubs offer some concealment.

"You know," William remarks. "I can't believe we haven't run into anyone yet."

"Don't jinx it," Ana says darkly. "I'm glad no one's here."

"The mountain is pretty huge," I say. "Anyone else on here must be on other parts of it. Lucky for us."

"Do you think we'll get fresh water?" William asks suddenly.

I frown. "Fresh water?" I repeat.

He points to the very top of the mountain and I notice that it's covered in snow. "Snow means water, right? Once it melts anyway."

For a good minute, we're all happy about that bit of news. Until Ana points out that even if there is water up there, it's probably poisonous.

That sobers us up real quick.

"Why does everything in this arena have to be so difficult?" I say crossly, as we put our things down and try to get this place on the mountain to act somewhat as a shelter.

"Because it's the great Quarter Quell," Ana says mockingly. "And the Capitol needs a good show."

"Ana, stop," William hisses. "You know we can't say stuff like that."

She bites her lip. "Sorry, but it's true."

"I know. Just don't say it out here."

Ana sighs. "I know. I'm sorry."

A loud whine interrupts us. The three of us, having finished setting up camp, turn to see Miller digging through one of our packs, his brows furrowed in concentration.

"Miller," I say cautiously. "What are you looking for?"

Miller looks up, shifting restlessly. He points at the packs in a series of movements I don't understand. I look back and see that William and Ana look just as confused.

William shrugs when he meets my gaze. "He seems off. Well, more off than this morning. I think something's bothering him."

"Maybe he's hungry," Ana cuts in. "I'm starving."

She's right. We haven't eaten since this morning. Deciding to worry about Miller later, since he's new behavior probably doesn't mean anything, we eat a dinner of some apple slices and crackers. Not great, but not bad either. We all give in to our thirst and divide a bottle of water between the four of us. I hope we don't regret it later.

We also decide to stay in our little camp for as long as possible. Until we're forced out at least. It's safer that way.

The anthem plays in the sky just as we're finishing up our dinner. I tense automatically, remembering how yesterday we saw Leila's face up there.

"Miller," William says, warning in his voice. "We're going to bed now. Why don't you go and lie down?"

"Oh," I say softly. It's a classic William thought. Remembering that seeing Mazie's face will trigger Miller once again. It's night time now, and more likely that soeone could hear his cries.

The three of us breathe out a sigh of relief when Miller goes to lie down as the anthem fades, snuggling into the small sleeping bag from William's pack.

I look at William. "Good thinking."

His eyes are trained on the sky, his body tense in anticipation, and doesn't reply.

It turns out, William and Ana were right earlier. Two deaths must have happened last night, after the anthem. Because, sure enough, there are 5 faces in the sky tonight.

The first is one of the girls from District 2. Ana gasps in shock. Another Career down. I wonder who killed her. Her dark eyes seem to pierce through the night. The next is the boy from District 3, the one who beheaded Mazie. I feel slightly guilty when I realize that I'm not too sad to see his face up there.

I wince when the girl from District 7 light up the sky. My first kill. William's arm wraps around my shoulders.

"It's okay," he whispers. "You saved my life. You had to do it." I lean into him, letting him comfort me.

The next face is that of a young boy, also from District 7. My heart drops to see such a young face shining in the sky, knowing he's dead now. He looks familiar for some reason. He and the girl from District 2 must have been the ones to die yesterday.

We all glance at Miller when Mazie's face lights up last, her red hair shimmering like fire. He's still asleep.

I look at the girl on the screen. _Did Mazie think she would die in such a horrible way? And that it would impact her brother in such a terrible way. _My eyes burn as I let it sink in that I'll never hear her laugh again, never see her smile at Miller. She and Leila are gone now, being shipped back to their families in a wooden box.

The three of us are silent as Mazie's face fades away, leaving us in pitch darkness.

Finally, Ana speaks. "You guys sleep. I'll take watch tonight."

William starts to protest but Ana insists. "You both took watch last night."

"Okay," I say. "Thanks, Ana."

I can almost hear the sad smile in her voice. "Goodnight, Maysilee. Goodnight, William."

"Goodnight, Ana."

Me and William take one of Ana's large blankets, giving her the other, and lie down together. At first, I'm embarrassed at the thought of sleeping under the same blanket as a boy, but I get over it quickly. It's to keep warm, I convince myself. Besides, it's not like we're going to do anything.

William's hand grips mine under the soft blanket. He's so close I can see his blond eyelashes, soft against his face.

"Goodnight, Maysilee." His lips brush against my forehead. "Sweet dreams."

Despite everything, I smile. "Sweet dreams, William."

* * *

**Ugh, it seems to be becoming a habit to update every three weeks. I have some part of chapter 19 already written so hopefully, it'll be out sooner. **

**Hope you guys aren't getting tired of all the breakdowns instead of action. I'm trying to get a good mix of the both because I've noticed that most fics I've read usually just focus on the fighting in the Games and not the impact that it had on everyone. And I really wanted to include some Serena and Haymitch in here. Also, if anyone is wondering why I made Haymitch so much like Katniss, I'm not trying to copy her character, the similarities are important for the end of this fic, especially for the epilogue. I guess you guys will have to wait and see :)**

**And also, yes Haymitch is snarky and arrogant, it just isn't his whole character. He puts on different faces for different people and usually, it's an arrogant one. But I didn't want that to be his whole character.**


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